NEW DELHI, 18 June 2003 — Right-wing parties have seized on the Ayodhya issue with an eye on the forthcoming elections and in a bid to gain political mileage. It is one of the key issues for instance of discussions during the four-day brainstorming session of the Bharatiya Janata Party that began yesterday.
The BJP favors an early, out-of-court settlement of the issue. Barely a few days ago, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee commented: “We wish to see an early resolution of this problem. For how many years can we afford to see it lingering?” He was speaking at a function held to felicitate a Hindu cleric, Jayendra Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Kanchi.
As Saraswati is known to be close to the BJP, his moves presumably reflect those of the ruling party to “solve the Ayodhya issue”. Saraswati has reportedly sent new proposals to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
The BJP is also at pains to deflect attention from the leadership issue and focus instead on elections to the four state assemblies due later this year and the Lok Sabha poll next year.
Party spokesman Pramod Mahajan told reporters yesterday that elections would figure prominently on the agenda of the four-day brainstorming session, of the BJP, with representatives of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also in attendance.
Mahajan did not rule out the possibility of party leaders broaching the leadership issue and electoral alliances. “However, these are not on the agenda of the meet,” the spokesman clarified.
Mahajan said leaders would be discussing the elections in detail. “The meeting, which is aimed at strengthening the party structure as also that of its allies, will discuss the broad strategy for the 2004 Lok Sabha poll,” he said.
Though the party has held several similar meetings, the latest session in Uttan on the outskirts of Bombay is seen as particularly significant, coming as it does immediately after the embarrassing controversy over who would lead the party’s election campaign - Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee or his deputy, L.K. Advani.
Notwithstanding lengthy clarifications by top leaders that Vajpayee was the undisputed chief, rumors of a silent leadership tussle within the party persist. A section of the party had mooted the idea of Advani and Vajpayee jointly leading the BJP in the parliamentary elections.
Party president Venkaiah Naidu, who had triggered the controversy by saying both Vajpayee and Advani would lead the party in the coming polls, has since clarified that the prime minister would continue to serve as the leader.
— Additional input from Agencies
