The synchronised launching of the BJP's election campaign by L.K. Advani from Kollam in Kerala and Atal Behari Vajpayee from Rajkot in Gujarat is a pointer to the headstart the party enjoys in this election. Among all the political parties it is the BJP alone which has got its act together. This is not surprising as has the benefit of solely occupying the opposition space throughout the United Front regime and it has in Vajpayee a leader whom it can unambigously project as its prime ministerial candidate. The rush of political leaders keen to join the BJP is in the ascendance. The new electoral alliances it has decided to go in for have further fortified its position. It will also have the propaganda benefit of being a victim of the anti-BJPism of the rest of the political spectrum. What is, however, questionable is whether all this adds up to a spectacular victory for the BJP. Significantly enough, Advani has talked about stability as the party's major electoral plank. It is a tacit admission that it has no use for its favourite planks like Ayodhya, Article 370 and Uniform Civil Code.But steering clear of such contentious issues, however desirable it may be, is easier said than done for a party which once thrived on them. Ayodhya helped it to win the support of a large section of the voters in the north but the Mandalisation of the polity and the consequent emergence of caste-based power centres have prevented it from growing further. Thus, the search for more votes has to be outside the limited votebank it has built up for itself. Any mention of Ayodhya can keep nearly 15 crore people out of bounds for the BJP. It is also true that repudation of the same can antagonise some of its traditional supporters. Small wonder that the party is unable to project its policies in a frank and forthright manner. The minorities may not constitute a majority in many constituencies but they are definitely a deciding factor in quite a few of them. Thus to come to power, it will have to be more accomodative towards minorities and other sections which have, by and large, remained aloof from the party.If today, the BJP is no longer seen as a North Indian party with a vision limited to the Hindi belt, it speaks volumes for its ability to transform itself into a mainstream political party. The successful manner in which ity adapted to the Mandal phenomenon, which struck at its very roots, is yet another proof of its ability to move with the times. There can be no mistake about its keenness to bring under its roof as many sections as are possible. If this stems from the realisation that only a liberal, umbrella-like political party can replace another of its kind, so much the better for the BJP. Its leaders have a point when they claim that their party is no longer the untouchable that it was in the 11th Lok Sabha as borne out by the flotsam and jetsam from various parties who gravitate towards it. But what matters is whether it remains an untouchable for a vast majority of the voters or not.
