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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, April 11: Power changes many. And, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is no exception. Party president LK Advani’s speech today marked a radical shift in his party’s policies, with a call for shelving of its core Hindutva issues in the interests of a stable coalition Government at the Centre.
The BJP’s two-day national executive, which began here today, witnessed the transformation of the party into a “New BJP” as proposed by Advani — a party “guided not by the issues of yesterday but by the agenda of tomorrow”. Political observers see this as a signal to party cadres that the National Agenda would prevail over the BJP’s own election manifesto which included Ayodhya, Article 370 and the uniform civil code.
Instead of a Ram Mandir inAyodhya, the goal should be to build a “Rashtra Mandir” — a prosperous and secure country for all citizens, he said.
Ayodhya, he said, should be taken out of both the judicial and legislative spheres and confined only to exploring that the BJP had a hidden agenda.
To BJP cadres, for whom Hindutva is the bedrock of the party’s ideology, Advani had this to say : “If any issue, in spite of its inherent validity, acquires a strongly ideological character — in fact, so strong an ideological character as to make coalition governance, and hence stable governance, difficult — it is only proper to leave it out.”
By this, he did not deny the BJP’s own commitment to Hindutva but only reinforced what the party’s leaders have been saying in Parliament and outside : That its key issues would be put on the backburner until it has a majority of its own. Advani was at pains to emphasise that this did not mean that the BJP had acted in an opportunistic and unprincipled manner.
The convoluted argument went thus: Though the three issues had been significant in shaping the ideological identity of the party, their “relative importance” was determined by the “higher imperative of nationalism”, which has been the defining feature of the BJP. In today’s circumstances, commitment to nationalism means providing a stable Government. Since allies do not subscribe to Hindutva, it is necessary to give it up. “A large area of governance has little to do with ideology — any ideology — except the overriding principle of national interests. Good governance becomes possible only when it is de-ideologised and de-politicised,” he said.
The meeting also reviewed the party’s performance during the elections with state leaders giving reports. Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana, where the BJP suffered unexpected reversals, came in for a special mention. Advani said in his speech that the poor performance in these states contributed substantially to the party’s difficulties in Government formation. An action plan is being drawnup for Maharashtra.
In a powerful message calculated to allay the misgivings of the BJP’s allies, Advani instructed state leaders that the interests of the coalition at the Centre are paramount. “The party’s strategies in states must be subordinate to its national strategy.” Areas of difference, he said, should be “inactivated”.
The indication is that the BJP high command will put brakes on party units in states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which are becoming expansionist and causing unease among allies. It will have to be a balancing act since the BJP is also preparing strategies for consolidation and growth in new areas and that would inevitably mean stepping on the toes of allies.
Advani has tried to give the BJP a new direction on the eve of handing over the reins of the party to his successor (Khushabhau Thakre), who will take over on May 3. Hindutva had led to the BJP’s phenomenal growth from 1989 to 1996, he said, but admitted that it was not these “ideological factors” that hadbrought the party new political allies.
He outlined a new approach that calls for the BJP to consciously change its mindscape and systematically transform itself as a party embracing people from all sections, religions, communities and regions.
