The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Give good governance, BJP told

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Give good governance, BJP told

Alladi Jayasri

BJP, RSS leaders hold meeting BJP, RSS leaders hold meeting; party to be allowed to chart its own course

BUOYANT MOOD: Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly B.S. Yediyurappa talking to presspersons along with BJP leaders Jagadish Shettar and D.H. Shankaramurthy after a meeting with RSS leaders in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: V. S reenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has "blessed" the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is on the verge of forming a coalition government with the Janata Dal (Secular) in the State.

At a meeting with BJP leaders B.S. Yediyurappa, Jagadish Shettar and D.H. Shankaramurthy here on Tuesday, RSS leaders M.C. Jayadev and K. Narahari are stated to have told them to provide "good and clean administration."

Own course

In keeping with its resolve last year, the RSS has decided to allow the BJP to chart its own course as a political organisation and will not interfere in the choice of ministerial candidates in any manner, party sources told The Hindu . RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan announced at the Mangalore convention last year that henceforth, the BJP will have to fight its own elections and not look to the RSS for logistic support as has been the norm for two decades.

Though Tuesday's meeting ostensibly discussed plans to celebrate RSS Sarsanghchalak M.S. Golwalkar's centenary celebrations from February 24, the BJP leaders were told they must not forget that it is the first time the party is coming to power in a southern State and the opportunity to consolidate the party's growing presence in the region should not be "frittered away" with wrong decisions or by letting the Sangh Parivar down in any manner.

Expectations

Meanwhile, expectations are running high among BJP legislators about the 17 who will join Mr. Yediyurappa in the new Ministry. Most of the party's 79 MLAs are first-timers, but it has been a long haul for the senior-most BJP leaders in the State who began their political career about the same time as party stalwarts A.B. Vajpayee and L.K. Advani.

From the old guard, which has seen the BJP rise from two MLAs during 1985-89, are the likes of V.S. Acharya, D.H. Shankaramurthy and Ramachandra Gowda, who are MLCs. They are leaders who gave the Jan Sangh and later the BJP a presence in corporation councils and served on the BJP's national executive committee.

Many young and first-time MLAs can claim credit for taking the BJP into districts that were for long Congress bastions. They have also been long associated with the Sangh Parivar's student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.

Mr. Yediyurappa and the State BJP leadership, however, are not worried about letting anyone down. "The list will come from Delhi, and it will be the party top brass deciding on who will join the Ministry. We are a disciplined party and will abide by the decision from Delhi. I will not even speculate on this issue," Mr. Yediyurappa said.

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