VHP Temple show ties in with BJP’s MP campaign

Acharya addressed a function last evening in Bhopal. While he began with the avowal that the VHP would not campaign for any party, the thrust of his speech was aimed more at providing a political advantage to the BJP and less at constructing the temple. Both Digvijay Singh and Sonia Gandhi were targeted in the course of his speech while even the VHP’s pet peeve in the BJP, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, did not come in for a mention.

This was clear even from his press conference earlier in the day: ‘‘Why do you keep asking questions about Vajpayee or BJP?’’ But he had no problems taking questions on Digvijay and Sonia, and began his press conference with references to the ‘imported bhabhi’.

It is no coincidence the BJP has decided to keep the Hindutva plank simmering without letting it take over the campaign. As Acharya held the stage in Bhopal, Uma Bharti was busy at a rally in Indore. The rally was earlier scheduled to be addressed by none other than Gujarat CM Narendra Modi but Finance Minister Jaswant Singh replaced him.

Sources admit Modi’s presence coinciding with the VHP campaign in the state would send too strong a signal on Hindutva and could be counter-productive. But Modi is scheduled to campaign at a later date. While such calculations tie in with the BJP’s strategy, which is to hammer away on the development front and reap in benefits from the emotive appeal of Hindutva, so far Hindutva seems to be a non-starter in this campaign.

Acharya’s function was attended by a less than a thousand persons, a gathering that would not even do credit to any local politician.