BJP and Advani survive, Advani compromises and learns a new lesson
Sonia Joshi
Jun. 11, 2005

Sometimes compromise and diplomacy wins. It was no exception to see BJP and Advani survive the recent typhoon of statements, counterstatements and what not.

According to media sources, slamming Mohammed Ali Jinnah for leading a "communal agitation...which devoured thousands of innocent people" and calling Pakistan "theocratic and nonsecular," the BJP leadership got the hardliners within and the RSS outside to agree to a resolution that finally helped L K Advani take back his resignation as party chief.

This brought an end to the almost week-long leadership crisis in the BJP but the larger ideological and organisational battle within the party and the Parivar—under Advani’s new post-Pakistan avatar—has only just begun.

Advani, who resigned as BJP president four days ago stating that "I have not said or done anything in Pakistan which I need to retract or review", returned to the post on Friday after getting the party to agree to his demand that it appreciate the significance of his Pakistan visit.

But the party top brass also made it clear that while they had no alternative to Advani right now, the BJP’s umbilical cord tying it to the Sangh Parivar was very much intact.

Mindful of the massive misgivings within its "core constituency" over Advani’s fulsome praise for Jinnah and Pakistan, the last paragraph of Friday's resolution categorically rejected the BJP chief’s initial call for a debate on the matter.

It said: "The BJP reiterates that whatever may have been Jinnah's vision of Pakistan, the state he founded is theocratic and nonsecular, the very idea of Hindus and Muslims being two separate nations is repugnant to it."

Reiterating the BJP’s total rejection of the two-nation theory championed by Jinnha, the resolution concluded, "There can be no revisiting the reality that Jinnah led a communal agitation to achieve his goal of Pakistan, which devoured thousands of innocent people in its wake and dispossessed millions of their homes and livelihoods." As in every compromise, the resolution has provided a pretext to both sides to claim "victory." Hardliners insist that the last paragraph establishes the "primacy of ideology over individual" and Advani’s acceptance of it marks a major climbdown.

The Advani camp, however, argues that Advani never questioned the Hindu Right’s fundamental positions on Partition and Jinnah; he had only made his remarks in the specific context of his highly successful visit to Pakistan—a context the BJP has had to formally recognise in today’s resolution.

So it called Advani’s visit "path-breaking" and one that had helped the people of India and Pakistan come closer, "remove the mountain of misunderstandings...and taken the momentum of better relations to a new level."

But beyond the nitpicking over the semantic significance of Friday's compromise formula lie far more substantive questions on the BJP’s future after the ‘‘Jinnah’’ interregnum.

For, it’s a different Advani coming back to the BJP, it’s an Advani who sought to fashion a wider agenda for his party but who has been reined in by the RSS and a section within the BJP. They will keep a tight watch over him.

The allies in the NDA who find him more acceptable now will also keep vigil to see that he does not go back to his old ways. This, then, is the tight rope that Advani will be called to walk in the coming weeks.

Already, the VHP has made it clear that it will not accept him back. "The VHP is not alone on this. Its stand shows what the RSS feels on the subject. Without the RSS's backing the VHP could not be taking such a strident position," said senior BJP leader. Having taken an unyielding position that he would not relent unless the party endorsed his position on what he had said in Pakistan, Advani’s authority, and credibility, has been eroded by his decision to take back the resolution. But many make allowances for him that this is merely a tactical retreat to enable him to push ahead with the larger battle of helping the party change course.

For this, he will have to engage in many a skirmish with the hawks and get the better of them; retreat when he cannot, push ahead when he can. This is surely a battle he could not have waged unless he had retained the position of the party chief.

Meanwhile, the NDA allies are also watching him very carefully. While they have welcomed the withdrawal of his resignation, they have rejected the BJP’s words on Jinnah and Pakistan contained in the resolution. If Advani caves into the pressures of the Sangh, he will be back to square one, losing the little he has gained in terms of a more moderate image and greater acceptability among the allies. Wittingly—or unwittingly—Advani has just made his job tougher.

His Jinnah & BJP debate Ram Madhav (RSS): The BJP has clarified its stand and it is the correct portrayal of history. The controversy was avoidable but it has ended

Pravin Togadia (VHP): By not apologising for his remarks, he has insulted the country which will never forgive him. The saints of VHP will also not forgive him

Ally JD(U): Relieved he remains BJP president having overcome the storm raised over a speech during his very successful visit to Pakistan. JD(U) rejects BJP’s contention that Jinnah was the only person responsible for the Partition. History recognises there were too many of them

P R Dasmunsi (Cong): Advani wanted to turn himself from Ratnakar to Valmiki (the bandit who became a hermit and wrote the Ramayan). But he ended up remaining Ratnakar. His statements in Pak were aimed at an image changeover

Pakistan Foreign minister Kasuri: Advani’s comments gave greater permanence to the peace process. India and Pakistan must continue with the process at greater speed so that it does not get hijacked by extremists

The resolution but not exactly a resolution

L K Advani: A qualified victory. Has had to compromise on Jinnah, authority questioned given few stood up for him. Can expect Cong to keep needling BJP with "Jinnah vs Nehru" issues. Has tried to step into Vajpayee’s shoes but will they fit? The question: how far will he walk his new talk?

BJP (Advani’s Boys): The Second Generation stayed together on "ideological issues". But couldn’t get themselves to remove the patriarch. United by past ties with Advani — and future fears of Murli Manohar Joshi.

BJP (Not Advani’s Boys): Joshi took on Advani publicly but to no avail. Has sectional Sangh backing but is isolated in party.

A B Vajpayee: He can have the last laugh. He used to sulk, too, but usually got more of his way, with more finesse.

RSS: Half a win. Not been in so much control of the party in years, but the leader is not its man. Will want Advani to go at least by December, the BJP’s silver jubilee. If he fights back, Nagpur will need to work overtime.

VHP: Lots of snarl words, lots of TV but very little to show for it. One reason Advani stayed on was because BJP second rung didn’t want his removal to be interpreted as a VHP victory. Political orphan.

Congress: Grinning from ear to ear. Thinks it has a crack at the BJP’s Hindu middle-class constituency. It’s running a government. The opposition is too busy drafting resolutions.

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