IN 54, L.K. Advani was a Sangh pracharak for Bharatpur in Rajasthan. The senior man, as pracharak for the entire state, was very much Sunder Singh Bhandari. By 1999, Advani had become the Union home minister. It became his constitutional and beholden duty to appoint a governor in the troubled but politically crucial state of Bihar: the letter of appointment went out to Bhandari.
When Advani abandoned his usually careful choice of words last week to say that the time had come to appoint an 'apolitical' administration, hinting at recalling Bhandari, his timing was atrocious. It was clear not just that senior members of the bjp government had a communication problem, but that the solidarity of the Sangh parivar was cracking. Enough indications showed that after attaining power, the once-impregnable phalanx was beset with infighting of a viciousness that even its highly imaginative antagonists had not been able to predict.
For prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the home minister's statement detonated at the most embarrassing of times. Just before the historic bus ride to Lahore, and more crucially for the party, just after the decision on Bihar. Coming in the aftermath of Advani's rash statement in Jhinjoli, Haryana, about small parties blackmailing the government-which led to Om Prakash Chautala pulling out of the alliance with his four MPs-the government was plunging into a crisis.
After a failed effort in September last year, the Cabinet had actually convinced the President that Bihar was a fit case for dismissal. Governor Bhandari's report was seen as the groundwork on which the President had to act. From planning to execution, the task of invoking Central rule had finally been achieved.
But just as Laloo Yadav's detractors came out with the mithai in Patna, trouble threatened. According to well-placed sources in the government, the decision to remove Bhandari was taken by Advani-who finally reversed it, recognising his tactical blunder-along with Samata allies George Fernandes, Nitish Kumar and others, around the same time that the Cabinet decided to impose President's rule in the state.
One of Bhandari's first acts when he assumed direct charge was to remove key state and Patna district government officials. Most had been handpicked by Laloo and owed personal loyalty to him. It was a prescription for trouble, as political banalities took over. Finance minister Yashwant Sinha was reportedly calling the shots over the appointments of key officials; he was attacked by Nitish Kumar on the grounds that 'backward caste' officers had not been appointed, showing that the bjp and Bhandari tended to favour only high caste officers. A beleaguered state government attempted to fall in line with the diktats of political correctness. But the fact was, in the words of one officer: 'There is no backward officer of the seniority required to fill in vacancies, so what do you do? Do you appoint a junior as state chief secretary just because he is a backward?''
To the besieged Bhandari, Advani's statement set the seal on his humiliation. In the highest traditions of the rss, Bhandari took a train instead of the mandatory governor's aircraft to Delhi and told journalists that he had been 'embarrassed and hurt' by Advani's statement and that he had no intention of returning to Patna. bjp sources say that the two had been at loggerheads much before the party emerged on the national scene. 'There have been differences, but they will be sorted out,' admitted bjp spokesman Venkaiah Naidu.It took much persuasion for senior Sangh leaders to get Bhandari to withdraw his terrible oath. The governor met Vajpayee twice before any decision was reached.
Advani's subsequent statement sought to gloss over the schisms within the party. 'My reference to the possibility of an 'apolitical administration' for the state during President's rule had created an unfortunate misunderstanding. [It] had no relation whatsoever to the administrative competence of Shri Bhandariji, who is one of the ablest leaders of the country held in high esteem by all because of his simplicity and integrity. The issue has been sorted out.''
Bhandari was not the party's only problem: the bjp in Bihar was up in arms as well. Two party MPs from Bihar, Madan Mohan Jaiswal and Dhirendra Agrawal, threatened to quit if Bhandari was recalled; a team of bjp mlas requested Bhandari to stay on. As a sideshow, Bhopal MP Sushil Chandra Verma threatened to quit the Lok Sabha if his demands were not met. Looming over it all was Madan Lal Khurana, reportedly torn between pursuing an independent political vocation and the realisation that if he quit the party, it would be on a one-way ticket.
But political observers, even inside the bjp, say that Advani's controversial statement set the cat among the pigeons and is going to be exploited by Laloo. In Delhi, Laloo gleefully seized the opportunity: 'rss and Sangh parivar are the real centres of power. The rest are all toys in the hands of the parivar.' Advani's statement, he had said earlier in Patna, proved what he'd been saying all along, that Bhandari was biased.
In real terms, Laloo might also have a great deal to fight for. The imposition of President's rule had him brandishing his favourite weapon-a bandh to reap political mileage and also to evoke the 'spontaneous' reaction of the people. The public had usually delivered, but now it seemed that Laloo's secret weapon had run out of ammunition, misfiring on both counts. The Laloo-Rabri Devi rally attracted more
security personnel than supporters-just 200 people showed. Though it is too early to suggest a political swing, the mood in Patna can be gauged from the fact that when police at the main Dak Bungalow crossing started beating up rjd ministers, those present cheered them on as never before.
The bugles didn't quite play retreat, but even so the feisty Laloo has decided to shift temporary camp to Delhi where he may find more like-minded politicians than in his own state. 'I am going to protest against the undemocratic approach of the bjp government at the national level by organising a rally,' Laloo said. He also dangled a carrot before the Congress, saying: 'I am willing to support a Congress-led government in the state.' As usual, Sonia Gandhi wasn't biting.
The Congress, though its eyes are fixed on UP and Bihar, is not willing to reveal its cards, but its options look thin. The imposition of President's rule faces a hurdle-ratification by both houses of Parliament. While the bjp is confident that it will breeze through the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha is a stumbling block. Many saw the attempted removal of Bhandari as a step towards assuring the Congress that a 'neutral' man would be installed in Bihar, if that party would abstain from voting in the Rajya Sabha. But that is a fait accompli anyway, say bjp leaders. If the Congress does not support the bjp and Rabri Devi is re-installed as chief minister, it would spell the end of their efforts to regain Bihar. The message appears to have reached the Congress leadership. Says Pranab Mukherjee: 'There was no option but to impose President's rule in Bihar. This is the best step.'
Though Laloo's friends in the Congress, notably Sitaram Kesri, have kept a line open with the party president on lending support, the party stays divided in the state unit. Backward caste Congress leaders, headed by state pcc president Sadanand Singh, favour an informal alliance with Laloo; but in the absence of an uncontested state leader of stature, everything would depend on the stand taken by the party high command.
If there's one point on which all political parties agree, it's the way they see Bihar: ripe for exploitation, electorally speaking. Says state bjp chief Sushil Modi: 'We demand early elections in the state after the dissolution of the assembly; President's rule is not a permanent answer.' His ally, central minister Nitish Kumar, also favours elections 'after the administration is cleansed', in a reference to the nine-year-long reign of the Laloo-Rabri combine where all significant positions in the districts have gone to selected people to further the rjd cause. The Congress is optimistic, lured by the sweet music of reports that suggest the imminent return of minority community, tribal and Dalit votes. Congress leaders like Kesri have been impressing upon party leaders that an alliance with Laloo would be the best way to keep out the powerful bjp-Samata combine in the state.
The bjp's problem isn't restricted to Bihar, as it ponders how to keep its own house in order. Says general secretary Govindacharya: 'Our party is run on the basis that communication lines have to be open. To keep the dialogue going is the key.' But that key appears to have been lost somewhere along the way. Senior rss leaders, for instance, have been urging the Vajpayee government to coordinate between the party and the government. 'A lot of decisions, as in Bihar, have been taken without consulting the party. Problems are bound to arise,' says a senior bjp leader.
High on its list of priorities is the imposition of the Jana Krishnamurthy committee report that was submitted last year. The report proposes more solid coordination between the party and government. It reportedly says that this coordination has broken down, leading to all kinds of trouble over which the organisation has no control and for which it is unwilling to take responsibility. Senior leaders also point out that while the report has come up for discussion before the national executive and in other meetings, little has been done to implement it. Says one leader: 'In short, Vajpayee and Advani have to discuss issues with Kushabhau Thakre.' But how that might be done, keeping in view that the allies have similar demands, is anyone's guess.
On the eve of the budget session in Parliament, the alliance has to do some sound floor management, considering the shaky position of its allies. Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalitha made a united call on Friday for the dismissal of the dmk government. Vajpayee's reaction was brusque: 'Just as the demand for dismissal of the central government is not acceptable to me, this demand is also not acceptable to me.' Meanwhile, Chautala told Outlook that while he would not vote for the Congress, if it came to elections, he would vote against the bjp government. Though the reins are in their hands, bjp managers have their task cut out. The party is already going through a baptism of fire: more fuel would be singularly unwelcome.
