The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `We'll be free of coalition pressures'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 15, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`We'll be free of coalition pressures'

By T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI, JULY 14. After losing all the seats it contested in the Lok Sabha polls, the State Bharatiya Janata Party is now seeking to reposition itself as a political force, free of coalition pressures.

"We are not per se against aligning with any party. But our present strategy is to function as an independent force. We have told our party members not to be governed by the thought of having to align with some party or the other in the future," L. Ganesan, national secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, told The Hindu .

The BJP members of the Assembly, while presenting their views in the House, would maintain a "distinct identity." "They will behave neither like legislators of the Opposition DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) nor like members of the ruling AIADMK (All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam). We have issued guidelines to our MLAs," says Mr. Ganesan.

To ensure that Tamil Nadu-centric issues are raised in the Lok Sabha, the BJP is thinking of nominating one of its members of Parliament to represent the State's concerns, says C. P. Radhakrishnan, State president. A similar arrangement has been made for Kerala. Besides, Jana Krishnamurthy and S. Thirunavukkarasar, Rajya Sabha MPs elected from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, will take up the issues of Tamil Nadu.

As it realised the critical importance of local issues in the wake of the poll defeat, the party has decided to highlight them vigorously. "Our members, at various levels, will take up issues and problems of local importance. We will focus on the State-level macro issues and, at the same time, pay attention to village and ward-level problems too," says Mr. Ganesan.

Already, the party has been holding meetings and demonstrations, urging the State Government not to repeal the law banning forcible conversions and not to interfere with temple adminstration.

The party's vote base is spread among urban pockets. Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Kanyakumari have come to be counted as strongholds. "We are planning to penetrate the northern districts. Also, Thanjavur and Ramanathapuram will be our focal areas," Mr Radhakrishnan says.

Commitment to Hindutva

Members and sympathisers of the Sangh Parivar and a section of the middle class have been the BJP's mainstay. "We will eye the youth, particularly those who have just crossed 18 years. We have found that it is the younger generation that gets attracted most to nationalism," Mr Ganesan notes.

He claims that a good section of cadres of the Sangh Parivar constituents, particularly at the lower level, was `misled' by media reports that the BJP had diluted the Hinduvta ideology, and the loss of its support was one of the reasons why the BJP was not able to return to power at the Centre. "The onus of convincing them of our commitment to the ideology lies with us. We are confident of doing it," the BJP leader says.

Hinduvta and development will be the main planks of the party for its growth, in tune with the national executive's resolve last month. "Hinduvta is part and parcel of our lives. So, we do not have to feel apologetic about it. But this does not mean that we are anti-Christian or anti-Muslim. Similarly, development has to be given the pride of place.

"Unless economic development takes place, we cannot go further. And, we, during the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) rule, proved that the country made rapid strides in economic development," explains Mr. Radhakrishnan. The party will project these two features to widen its strength.

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