April 13, 1998

Change in government implies changes in policy.

Swapan Dasgupta

Since he won the vote of confidence on March 28 through a mixture of audacity and good luck, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has enlarged his circle of admirers. His new best friends -- to use a quaint Americanism -- are bowled over by his fascinating way with words and the evocative expressions that accompany them. They go gush-gush over his pragmatism, his plea for consensus and his suggestion that policies don't change with changes in government. They refer to the fact that the President's address carefully omitted all mention of nuclear weapons, that the finance minister had words of reassurance for foreign investors and that the transfer of power has not led to a wave of recriminations.

Since every new government loves a smooth transition, Vajpayee may be flattered that at least a small section of those who were pathologically allergic to the idea of a BJP government at the Centre is now viewing the change with greater equanimity. More so since he has carefully cultivated an image of himself as being separate, if not above, the party. He appeared to be driving home this theme by abruptly announcing in the Lok Sabha last Tuesday -- and repeating it in the Rajya Sabha two days later -- that "I will not go to the people to seek votes after five years". In short, he would be a one-term prime minister.

Vajpayee alone is in a position to explain the rationale behind his self-abnegation. Was it, as the BJP's detractors insist, an angry response to Home Minister L.K. Advani's robust defence in the Lok Sabha of the fundamentals of the BJP programme? Or was it a genuine expression of disgust at the overall degeneration of public life? Whatever the truth, it is being interpreted as an admission that Vajpayee has been forced on the backfoot by the persistent "hidden agenda" accusation. An extension of this theory is that after four distinguished decades in public life, Vajpayee wants to round it off with an assured place in history. And since history is written by those who don't like nuclear weapons, loathe swadeshi and despise the RSS, Vajpayee will not disappoint them. Consequently, the Sangh is being eased out of Atalji's soul.

The idea of a BJP-led Government confounding sceptics, avoiding controversy and providing a soothing touch is appealing, if paradoxical. But before the prime minister is lulled into statesman-like complacency, he should pause to examine the meaning of the verdict. An election that failed to secure additional seats or votes for the Congress, despite the enormous hype that accompanied Sonia Gandhi's entry, can hardly be called a vote for continuity. An election that saw Indian industry and the middle classes rallying behind the BJP in protest against the contorted liberalisation of Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram can hardly be said to be a non-endorsement of swadeshi. The 1998 verdict was not for radicalism, but it was nevertheless for real change. A change in the direction of governance and, equally important, a change in the establishment that wields power.

Vajpayee may undoubtedly enhance his initial comfort level if he banks on the experience of the ancien regime. But he will be unwise to repose faith in it. To succeed, he cannot lose sight of his political roots and his ultimate objective: to turn the culture of governance upside down. In the treacherous world of Delhi, magnanimity is inevitably misconstrued as weakness. It is already happening with the new prime minister.

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