Columns: The Usual Suspects

Columns

India Today, April 5, 1999
April 5, 1999

THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Still Prime Minister

Lesson from Hauz Khas and Trichy

By Swapan Dasgupta

There is a quaint anecdote about a British eccentric that bears repetition. At a party, the gentleman met a pleasant middle-aged lady whom he thought he had met before but couldn't recognise. He listened attentively to her conversation for clues but she gave nothing away. He finally fell back on an old gambit. "What's your husband doing these days?" "Oh," she replied nonchalantly, "he's still the King."

Substitute "leader" for "husband" and you'll know why Atal Bihari Vajpayee's continuing tenure is sending shock waves through a chatterati that had lulled itself into believing that this was another passing show. Just compare the orchestrated gloating over Pramod Mahajan's apparently shambolic anniversary show in Delhi's Hauz Khas with the relative silence surrounding Vajpayee's spectacular public meetings in Calcutta and Trichy. India's beautiful people -- never quite at ease with unfamiliar dhotiwalas who spoke the language of sanctimoniousness -- have written off this regime. They are anxiously waiting for Sonia Gandhi to reclaim her family estate. If not by default, then by deceit.

If media alarmism is anything to go by, it could still happen. The past year has taught the Ram bhakts many lessons. They have learnt the virtues of market economy, the perilous cost of minority bashing, the delights of factionalism and even imbibed the good life. What they have inadequately digested is the art of coalition management -- the shortcoming that has detracted from the Government's achievements and kept alive the talk of imminent collapse.

The usual dose of Congress-bashing apart, preaching the virtues of coexistence was foremost in Vajpayee's mind at both Calcutta and Trichy. In Calcutta, the local BJP put up an impressive show but the gains of a 70,000 crowd were partly offset by Mamata Banerjee's sulk. Likewise, the lakh-strong crowd and the presence of alliance partners in Trichy were overshadowed by J. Jayalalitha's absence. In Mamata's case, the irritant was the prominence given to a CPI(M) renegade who was responsible for a brutal assault on her a decade ago. In the case of Jayalalitha, the local BJP first faxed her an invitation, a move she interpreted as discourtesy. The real problem was her refusal to share a platform with Union Petroleum Minister V. Ramamurthy, who has described her as a piece of extra flesh hanging from the BJP. Indeed, Jayalalitha has told the BJP to either sack Ramamurthy from the Cabinet or face the consequences.

The problem is more complex than ruffled egos. Unlike the United Front, which was a collection of regional parties, the BJP nurtures national ambitions. This inevitably leads to turf battles with allies like Mamata and Jayalalitha who believe they hold the key to their states. The BJP resents this and this converts into coalition hiccups. It also becomes a threat to stability when local rivalries are compounded by grim popularity ratings.

Vajpayee's search for a coalition culture won't happen by the BJP abdicating its national ambitions. The road to real partnership lies in undertaking less of the Hauz Khas jamborees and more of the Calcutta and Trichy shows. Only when the allies gauge Vajpayee's continuing mass appeal will they develop an effective stake in the Government. For his own sake, Vajpayee must travel incessantly and reach out to the voters directly. If performance signals ability, road shows are the route to stability.

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