Atal Bihari Vajpayee: A Man for All Seasons by Kingshuk Nag

Author:Kingshuk Nag [Nag, Kingshuk]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Published: 2015-11-30T18:30:00+00:00

SEVEN

Witness to Ayodhya

SOME SENIOR POLITICAL LEADERS, who were in important positions during the late 1980s, claim that overtures were made to Atal Bihari Vajpayee to quit the BJP and join the fledgling Janata Dal at that time. Along with Atal, another BJP stalwart Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was also similarly approached. The duo were told that they would have no long-term future in the BJP because it was abandoning its original Gandhian philosophy and was being converted into a party with a Hindu ideology. Thus it would make more sense for them to join the Janata Dal, which would be a party like the Janata Party, on whose principles Atal had sought to construct the BJP.

These leaders say that both Atal and Shekhawat wavered for a moment, but ultimately spurned the overtures. They were steeped in the RSS culture and, therefore, could not think of abandoning their alma mater.

‘We also did not persist with our efforts, not that it would have made a substantial difference, because the priority that V.P. Singh and we had was to break the Congress on the issue of corruption and not target the BJP and its Hindu agenda,’ says a senior leader who was part of the effort.

V.P. Singh claimed in his memoirs, titled Manzil Se Zyada Safar, released in 2006 that Atal and Shekhawat wanted to break away from the BJP. Immediately after the release, Atal reacted strongly to the allegation and, in a written statement, said that V.P. Singh’s claims were totally wrong. He said, ‘The statement that I was unhappy with the party is not only far from the truth, it is also laughable.’ Atal said that Singh’s statements ‘would lead to [a] wrong impression, so this statement is to remove doubts’.

In many interviews, when Atal was asked if he ever thought of leaving the party, he would jocularly answer, ‘Jaayein to jaayein kahan?’ If the questioner persisted, he would say that the BJP was the best and that is why he always answered, ‘If I have to go, where will I go?’

The stories about Atal mulling the option of leaving the BJP may not have been true, but the fact was that Advani was now the helmsman and what he did immediately after taking charge was to appoint a new team of office-bearers and infuse new blood into the system. He also dovetailed the programme of the BJP with that of the VHP that had embarked on the path of Hindu mobilization through ekatmata yatras, which were designed to bring out the faith and devotion of the masses towards Bharat mata and Ganga mata. The RSS also chipped in with its own efforts; the organization having remained distant from the BJP in the Atal era was now in the thick of things with jan sampark abhiyans. Advani himself was often seen in public, addressing various concerns. What is significant is that his tone had become strident, almost reminiscent of the Jana Sangh era. Circumstances too helped Advani. The young but inexperienced Rajiv

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