The Hindu : Q & A: Venkaiah Naidu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 25, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

Q & A: Venkaiah Naidu

After grappling successfully with the Assembly elections, codenamed `Operation 2003,' the BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, has focussed all his energies on what he has called `Mission 2004.' Talking to Neena Vyas, he discusses the party's electoral prospects, says he would neither contest elections nor join any new government and asserts that "there is no question of changing the Prime Minister mid-way" in the event of the BJP leading a National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre once again. Excerpts:

You said the BJP would win 300 seats on its own. Are you still that confident?

I set a target of 300 Lok Sabha seats at the last BJP national council session. That does not mean we are getting 300, may be 290 or 270, I leave it to the people. I had myself said that it was a difficult task, but not impossible. However, the BJP, which will be contesting about 350 seats, will definitely improve its position and reach the halfway mark (in the Lok Sabha).

In which States do you expect to improve upon your 1999 performance? And where do you think you might lose some seats?

In certain States the gains will be marginal, because in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand we have a good number of sitting MPs. I am expecting a good addition from Uttar Pradesh where we had 25 MPs in the dissolved House. I am also expecting very good gains in Karnataka, maybe three times the current number, and a good addition in Assam. In other States it will be marginal. There will be a contest in Maharashtra. The critical States for us are Kerala, where we hope to open our account, and West Bengal. In all other States our organisation is strong. Let me tell you that in the entire country there is a sort of wave in favour of the BJP and the NDA.

In Uttar Pradesh we have regained much of our past clout. You see, State issues will go into the background; focus will be on [the] Vajpayee Government's achievements.

The NDA coalition experiment has been successful, but has it retarded the BJP's growth in States where there are strong coalition partners?

The coalition experiment has definitely added to the BJP's strength. Today, Atal Bihari Vajpayee in known and accepted throughout the country. Today, the BJP is acceptable everywhere, no longer an untouchable. Alliances may change, but every party is ready to join us.

You cannot have your cake and eat it too. The BJP got an opportunity (to rule); its acceptability has grown; it has done good work; and people's apprehensions have been allayed. Overall, the coalition experiment has benefited the BJP. If in some States the party has not been able to grow that rapidly, it has also helped us to expand our base to others, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, the Andaman Islands ...

There is a view that for the sake of power the BJP has jettisoned its core ideology...

The more important issue was getting rid of [the] Congress misrule. The BJP had been contesting elections on its own, for so many years. No one stopped us. But people did not give us the mandate for our agenda. They gave us a mandate for a common agenda. You cannot be a partner in a coalition and then say we want to implement our own agenda. Unless we convince our allies and arrive at a consensus we cannot go forward on all those issues. For years we talked about Article 370, uniform civil code ... we did not get the mandate, people were not convinced. Simultaneously, we had this experiment (NDA), and we can continue to propagate our ideas. There is no contradiction between [the] BJP having its own ideology and implementing the NDA agenda ...

People did not give you a mandate for your core ideology, Hindutva. Have the people rejected it?

No, no. We have not pursued it fully. We are growing day by day. It will take some more time. When we said India should have a nuclear bomb, people ridiculed us. But today? The day is not far off when [the] people will be ready for a uniform civil code or a re-think on Article 370 ... We are not a two-or-three-issue party, although those issues are dear to us. Our ideology is nationalism, our heritage and culture. We have not given these up. The new NDA agenda will be for implementing, while our `Vision' document will give the party's vision.

You said that after Mission 2004 your work will be over. Are you planning to resign?

No, I have made up my mind not to contest elections in the future and not to join the Government. I was assigned this responsibility and I want to complete the task, and decide what to do later. I will not take sanyas, I will be working for the party. When I look back, at this very young age, the party has given me everything; each and every position from the State to the national level. I feel others should also get an opportunity. This is how I look at the issue. I had experience in the Government too, as Minister for Rural Development. I am a contented man that way, I feel I should make way for others also and set a small example for others. Whether I will complete my three-year term as party president, the party will decide. I don't boast about myself, but I have worked for the party since my student days, first with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, and I have reached a stage, which I could not have even dreamt of.

There is a perception that the BJP has a plan to make L.K. Advani the Prime Minister a few years down the line in case you form the new Government. The loh purush-vikas purush controversy suggested that.

This is not correct. I can tell you that there was a discussion in the party. We sat together, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and myself, and discussed the issue ... also with senior colleagues. Advaniji himself proposed that Vajpayeeji should again lead the nation and become the Prime Minister. There is no question of changing the Prime Minister midway. You have seen the pains Advaniji is taking over his yatra in this hot weather. After all, Vajpayeeji is a great asset to the party, he is the accepted leader of the country ... The loh purush-vikas purush controversy was blown out of proportion.

Do you see the VHP, the Bajrang Dal as helping the BJP?

Some of their statements are not acceptable to us. Whenever we differ we honestly make it public, but I do not question their nationalism. The BJP's relationship with the RSS is something very special, very dear to us. We draw inspiration from the RSS. Frequent interaction and appreciation of each other's point of view has helped us move forward ...

Why does the BJP need to clutch on to the RSS apron strings?

No question of clutching on to the RSS apron strings ... We now have a large membership of persons who have no RSS background ... The BJP assimilates and absorbs all these new elements, depending on their capacity to adjust. Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, Jaswant Singh, they are not from the RSS, they are holding important positions ... [a] lot of people are joining us. This shows the mood of the nation. In the process of taking new elements, expanding base, the BJP may also have to change. But loosening of ties with the RSS? No, not at all.

In a democracy why does the BJP allow a non-elected body like the RSS to call the shots?

This is not correct. These are all wrong perceptions. The good thing about the BJP is that things are discussed threadbare ...

Is there anything which you would like to add?

The BJP will consolidate itself. The Congress will face an identity crisis after the election and the Congress era will be over. The coalition era will continue. With development at centre-stage a healthy trend has set in. The mood of the people is: "Let's back Vajpayee."

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