The End of Pride Begins

When chief minister Narendra Modi's gaurav yatra takes to the streets—that is, if it actually does—it may well be a journey to nowhere. Had Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee not put a spanner in the yatra's wheels in July, the journey might have chugged along in the fond belief that it was on its way to the hustings. Today, after two more postponements, the yatra seems to have lost its steam, even before it has got started, as also its immediate purpose.

It has dawned upon the BJP that the challenge now is to hold on to power in Gujarat till November or December, when the elections may be scheduled, with the October poll plan having gone awry. "We will abide by the apex court's verdict," concedes state BJP chief Rajendrasinh Rana.

It is in line with this logic that party leaders have been wondering: what's the need to "waste the effort of the month-long gaurav yatra at this moment"? They argue that if started now the yatra would get over by early next month, with elections probably still more than a month away. Stretched beyond a month, it would lose the edge. Admits a leader: "Now, if the yatra is taken out, it will only be to satisfy the chief minister's ego."

By deferring his yatra—slated to begin on September 3 from Phagvel in state Congress president Shankersinh Vaghela's Kapadwanj Lok Sabha constituency—Modi certainly swallowed a bitter pill. The party's claim was that the yatra's postponement was a signal of mature leadership and was a response to the appeal by popular Hindu religious leaders. But, given that all BJP leaders had maintained till the last that the yatra was on, it's clear that the decision was imposed by the high command.

More than this, 'master-strategist' Modi has to countenance the fact that Vaghela's 'grand show' in Phagvel was a runaway success. Nothing could be more ironical than the fact that the BJP planned a function but could not go ahead with it, while the Congress never really organised a gala, but walked away triumphantly nonetheless. The rest is history. Interestingly, Vaghela shunned his aggressive posture when he told Outlook: "Let him (Modi) go wherever he wishes. But this does not mean we will remain mute witnesses if the kalank yatra provokes violence in the state. We do not call it gaurav yatra, for they have not done anything to be proud of."

The BJP's desperation can be discerned in Modi calling up the organisers of the annual Tarnetar fair in Surendranagar district, Saurashtra region, to demand an invitation. The fair begins on September 10 with the hoisting of a 52-yard flag, followed by prayers at the Shiv temple. The gram panchayat hosts the folk event and has invited Vaghela for the simple reason that the district and taluka administrations, as also the gram panchayats, are Congress ruled.

Says Surendranagar district panchayat president Kanubha Parmar: "It is a gram panchayat event and it decides whom to call. He (Modi) may be the chief minister, but that does not mean we have to call him. He is most welcome to be there like thousands of others who come here." Modi, meanwhile, will be present at a function organised by the state tourism department on September 11. Earlier, a confrontation between Modi and Vaghela seemed imminent with both likely to be there on the same day, just like Phagvel. But Vaghela quietly pulled out saying, "I'll go there only on the 10th, as scheduled."

A Vaghela supporter explains why he pulled out: "One should not repeat the same strategy everywhere, lest it boomerangs. We were able to stall the gaurav yatra at Phagvel, while in Tarnetar, Modi stooped to demanding an invitation. Even if the yatra begins now, it would have lost its charm. Politics is all about knowing when to pull things and when to let go."