Vajpayee's insistence on doing it his way was also reflected in the appointments of Jaswant Singh and Pramod Mahajan to the cabinet in the face of rss ire. It is lost on nobody that the party and the Sangh could not be controlled without Advani's support, which-for whatever reason-he has received till now, despite coteries on both sides battling it out. In fact, Vajpayee's son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya is emerging as the new focus of hardliner attack.
POLICY: Advani said it, but Vajpayee tried to act upon it: converting the bjp into a "party of governance". But the phrase may mean different things to the two leaders. For Vajpayee, it signifies a middle-of-the-road government; conservative yet liberal, right of centre but with a human face. The emphasis is on initiatives on infrastructure, yet continuing with the liberalisation regime. Exploding the nuclear bomb, but taking the bus to Lahore. In short, "governance sans ideology", as he himself promised in an interview with Outlook during the election campaign. A pre-Indira Congress, without the corruption and the dynasty, offers an aide. Not too many takers, though.
POLITICS: Vajpayee rolled with the punches. The rout in the assembly elections and the losses in the by-elections were accepted with good grace. But it also allowed Vajpayee to nudge the bjp down a moderate path, focusing on issues of governance rather than those of identity. And he got more assertive with the Sangh and difficult allies. Vajpayee saw the political groupings at the heart of the coalition as the nucleus of a long-term alternative to the Congress. As the bjp is yet to make it big in the south and east, alliances will prove crucial again, is the argument. Others feel that running a coalition should teach the bjp a lesson: better alone in Opposition than in power "like this". The results of the nine states going to the polls in end-'99 and early 2000 will make this decision for the bjp.
Vajpayee faces a three-pronged problem: the Congress will at some point attempt to force a mid-term poll or provide an alternative government.As he shows signs of consolidating, alarm bells have begun to ring in opposition ranks. Secondly, those 'moderates' who think like him in the bjp-from Khurana to Shanta Kumar and Shekhawat-are in the doghouse. And the shenanigans of some of his closest allies have provided his most embarrassing moments. His home minister literally chased away the Haryana Lok Dal that was supporting the coalition. The dismissal of naval chief Vishnu Bhagwat is descending into a brawl between Vajpayee's chief troubleshooter George Fernandes and the sacked admiral. And nobody has yet contradicted Mohan Guruswamy's allegations against Vajpayee and his family. Despite their occasional vote of confidence in Vajpayee himself, allies frequently lambast his government. Even in the attempt to promulgate Article 356 in Bihar, where Vajpayee is claiming a moral defeat for the Congress, the hard political reality is that he has had to eat crow twice. This could cost him: already half the Samata Party mlas have joined Laloo.
PERSONALITY: Vajpayee, that consummate orator and the charmer of millions is, ironically, not a great communicator in smaller groups. Vajpayee is most comfortable in the role of the elder who takes a decision after having consulted everybody. That is where the pmo comes in, stocked as it is with every conceivable type of bureaucrat. Loyal the pmo is, but then Vajpayee for all his charm and paternal aura is a very shrewd politician. Anticipating discontent from his party, he operates with the help of only a handful of trusted aides (Brajesh Mishra, Shakti Sinha), a few bjp moderates (Jaswant Singh, Shekhawat) and a couple of key allies (Fernandes, Hegde and Barnala). All other cabinet members, except Advani, are just that: ministers who are expected to perform. That he is a wily practitioner of realpolitik as well is sometimes lost on people. For example, remember who Sushma Swaraj or Sahib Singh were?
Despite A Positive Beginning, The Congress Could Slide Into The Bad Old Days
PARTY: Congress president Sonia Gandhi breathed life into a moribund party and took it firmly in hand, confounding the cynics. The Congress united behind her, with no more desertions and many a prodigal returning to the fold. She put the 10, Janpath coterie-Arjun Singh & Co-in its place and hammered out a working relationship with Sharad Pawar, consolidating her hold over the party while refraining from vendetta. However, she has moved at a snail's pace in restructuring the organisation and hasn't checked infighting. Sycophancy remains a hallmark, going by the queue of senior leaders at 10, Janpath to "pay tribute" on her completing a year in office. Despite positive beginnings like giving pcc presidents a freer hand in ticket distribution, inner-party democracy and decentralisation have not materialised.
POLICY: The Panchmarhi conclave laid out, for the first time in 20 years, a policy framework for the party. In a bold move that first inspired scepticism, the Congress denounced coalitions and reaffirmed single-party rule as the only guarantor of stable government. Rejecting the mandalisation of the north and regionalism of the south, it set itself the task of welding Dalits, minorities and upper castes together under its banner. Rather than form a rag-tag coalition, it preferred to play the role of constructive opposition. Good on paper, the Panchmarhi declaration proved harder to implement. Realpolitik demanded moves against the spirit and often the letter of Panchmarhi. For instance, the Congress found itself shoulder-to-shoulder with the "casteist" parties it had decried on opposing President's rule in Bihar. Rabri Devi was reinstalled in the larger interest of luring the minorities back to the party.At the same time, the Congress adopted a "soft Hindutva" line to steal the bjp's thunder, indicating highly confused thinking. On economic policy, it attempted a compromise between liberalisers and socialists. Reforms and garibi hatao would go hand-in-hand, it said, backing the bjp on the Patents Bill. On foreign policy-the Bomb and the Bus-it had no complaints against Vajpayee but for the flamboyance with which both were executed.
POLITICS: The party scored a hat-trick in the assembly polls and improved its prospects in the south, west and even Punjab. But in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, a recovery without Mamata and Jayalalitha seems distant. In Orissa, it's lost ground and could lose more if ex-chief minister J.B. Patnaik proves troublesome. On the road to recovery in UP and Bihar, it blundered when it propped up Rabri Devi, angering Dalits and anti-Yadav upper castes alike. It tried to rectify things by a tough line on the Bhagwat and Mohan Guruswamy affairs, seeking parliamentary probes on both.
PERSONALITY: One year as Congress president has seen Sonia's uptight, tight-lipped persona loosen up. She's self-assured, laughs and converses with ease. Her voice is heard more frequently in party conclaves where she asserts herself in no uncertain terms. However, her interaction with the media is limited to a few soundbytes as she lacks the confidence for a one-to-one interview. Her public image remains a curious mix of bahu and queen bee.
Sonia maintained a dignified silence as the Sangh parivar attacked her western origins, but immediately thereafter, made a conscious attempt to play down her Christian roots. On the one hand, she ousted Patnaik after the torching of Australian evangelists in his state, on the other, she presented her Hindu credentials to the nation at Tirupati.
Her self-conscious dissociation with the Church (and association with temples) could prove electorally savvy. Bihar remains her biggest political blunder to date. Of which, admittedly, there have been few.
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