Some Chin Music

L.K. Advani may not after all be free of his tangled Ayodhya past. First, the cbi filed a revision petition last week seeking to prosecute the BJP president for the Babri demolition. Then the NDA allies made strong statements suggesting they might part ways with the BJP if it revived the mandir issue. To add to this, VHP leaders continued their tirade against Advani. Thundered Giriraj Kishore: "When they were in power they did nothing. So what is the point of Advani saying they would have built a mandir if Vajpayee had won again. Does he think the people are fools?"

Clearly, Advani remains wedged between a temple and a hard place. And more clouds are gathering on the horizon. The Liberhans Commission report into the Babri demolition and accompanying violence is reportedly close to completion. If the commission of inquiry indicts Advani, he can remain BJP president but will he choose to remain the leader of the Opposition, a constitutional post?

If he has to quit, it would be a setback for the BJP whose numbers and talent in the Lok Sabha have been badly depleted—the second-rung leaders are mostly members of the Rajya Sabha. So, there is speculation over whether the BJP will again trudge back to Atal Behari Vajpayee and persuade him to play a more proactive role. There is already evidence of Advani turning to Vajpayee for help in negotiating both the Sangh and NDA allies. Last week when the Atal-Advani combine landed up at Keshav Kunj, the RSS Delhi headquarters, a section of the press described it as an act of appeasement. Yet sources reveal that Advani requested Vajpayee to accompany him because the ex-PM's stature is more commanding and he can stare down the RSS leadership.

Vajpayee never blinked first in his confrontations with the RSS-VHP. Advani's problem is that he is reported to be "deeply hurt" at the VHP's onslaught. All his peace moves have been rebuffed and sources reveal that VHP president Ashok Singhal has refused to take Advani's telephone calls. Giriraj Kishore says it is "because Singhalji is always travelling" but adds a cryptic afterthought: "Atal-Advani are the two sides of the same coin."

Advani's journey to Haridwar to take part in the RSS' national executive meet must also be seen in the context of the BJP president trying hard to rally at least the cadre behind him. Says a BJP vice-president: "Unlike Atalji, Advani does not have the capacity to simply ignore the VHP. A part of him can't seem to believe that they have turned against him." Another BJP leader points the finger at Murli Manohar Joshi who remains close to Singhal, saying "Joshiji is quietly fomenting trouble in the parivar."

The tirade of the parivar's loony fringe may, however, be the least of Advani's troubles. The tdp's Chandrababu Naidu for one has been calling leaders in the JD(U) to express his irritation with Advani's recent utterances and the BJP's genuflecting to the Sangh. Trinamool leader Mamta Banerjee is also annoyed—but she is currently bogged down by desertions from her own party. Apart from the Shiv Sena, most of the NDA allies think the BJP cost them general elections.

Ironically, the ally that is complaining the most loudly, the JD(U), is the least likely to part ways with the BJP. Or is it? With the Bihar and Jharkhand assembly polls round the corner, both the BJP and JD(U) have no chance of even putting up a respectable fight if they fight separately. But the buzz is that while George Fernandes, the NDA convenor, will not part ways with the BJP, Nitish Kumar is open to the idea of dumping the party if a pre-poll alliance can be forged with Ram Vilas Paswan. Says former minister and JD(U) leader Digvijay Singh: "If the BJP continues like this, no one will be able to stay with it.They are making it hard for all their allies. They don't seem to realise that people turn against all of us every time they mention Ram and mandir. " The NDA will meet on November 14 to clear the confusion about the BJP's recent ideological positioning.

Most in the BJP do realise that the mandir issue has run its course. But some deeds cast long shadows. The demolition of the Babri mosque was one such cataclysmic event. But today, Advani the charioteer, is unclear about where to steer his bandwagon.