Too close for comfort

The government may not collapse on this issue, but the controversy follows a pattern. The more strident and uncomprising Thackeray gets, the more delighted BJP becomes.

Hispugnacity shows the BJP as more rational; it helps differentiate between the two as little else does. Each time Thackeray repeats his threat, Gopinath Munde, Deputy Chief Minister and the BJP8217;s man in Maharashtra, reiterates his vow to provide security to the visiting team if a match is scheduled in Mumbai or anywhere in Maharashtra. He is following Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee8217;s cue. Kirit Sommaiya, the party8217;s Mumbai president, says: 8220;What the Prime Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are saying is correct.8221; In this imbroglio, Thackeray has come out as the bad guy and the BJP appears the good sort.

Timing is very crucial, in politics as much as on the cricket pitch. The BJP has begun to speak tough in the past six months, taking the Sena quite by surprise. By design, the BJP has sought to distance itself from the Sena and Thackeray. Their alliance was never a comfortable one but it has hit the lowest patch ever. 8220;Almost everyone in the party is fed up8230;there8217;s a feeling that we are beingshort-changed, but we can8217;t say it openly,8221; says a BJP leader.

The doctrine of distancing was discussed during the July conclave of the state BJP and subsequently put to work in a deliberate manner. The BJP was being identified too closely with the Sena8217;s misdemeanours and didn8217;t like it. As the government concentrated its attention on and allocated resources to the Sena8217;s pet projects 8212; the slum rehousing plan is a recent example 8212; BJP leaders felt their party8217;s agenda wasn8217;t figuring at all.

It took a boycott by all BJP ministers of a scheduled Cabinet meeting to get the government to agree to some of their poll promises, namely a new department for nomads and tribals, an independent corporation for OBC development, withdrawal of cases against political activists, including those arrested in the Ram Janmabhoomi case. All important issues for the BJP to consolidate its constituencies.

Sommaiya8217;s public attack on the government8217;s slum rehousing project 8212; Shivshahi Punarvasan Prakalp 8212; marked thepublic distancing in August. Sureshdada Jain, a Sena man, is the Housing Minister. 8220;A public attack is very significant,8221; says a Sena minister. 8220;It8217;s tantamount to saying that the BJP doesn8217;t have faith in its own government.8221; The BJP could have discussed its reservations at an inter-party level or BJP ministers could have taken up the issue at Cabinet meetings. Sommaiya8217;s attack meant that the BJP was taking on the Sena, in full view of their voters.

The accumulation of differences over four years of governance took its toll, beginning with the distribution of portfolios to the hosting of the Michael Jackson show and the demand for a separate Vidarbha. The differences were so deep at one point that Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and Munde were not conferring even on important issues. As the credibility of the alliance government declined, it dawned on BJP leaders that they were carrying a liability. The more the government discredited itself, the higher the price they would pay for it in the assemblyelections due 12-14 months from now.

The doctrine worked on two other recent occasions. When Joshi recently offered to resign, the BJP leadership, which had always declared its faith in him, indicated its preference for a change. Then, the BJP adopted a sober and laid-back approach towards the Justice Srikrishna report on the 1992-93 Mumbai riots in contrast to the Sena8217;s belligerence. Last month, it was the issue of waiving electricity bills of farmers 8212; a public declaration by Thackeray, which was opposed by the BJP at the executive level.

Logically, the distancing should mean the two parties do not fight the next assembly elections as partners. However, even that may not happen. Electoral arithmetic means the BJP and Sena will have to stay together to be in power. The Sena wants to get a foothold in other states which the BJP is uncomfortable about. In Maharashtra, they can grow only at the expense of the other. Skirmishes are inevitable. It explains why the Sena wants to show up the BJP8217;s brand ofHindutva as a diluted version of its own.

Doctrine of distancing

The ground was laid when the BJP realised it was being identified too closely with the Sena8217;s misdemeanours. Neither did it appreciate the fact that the state government was only focusing on the Sena8217;s pet projects. The doctrine of distancing8217; was discussed at the July conclave of the state BJP and has been put to work since: