A revolving door called the NDA

In politics there may be no permanent friends or enemies... But few parties have displayed the kind of `skills' the BJP has in jumping from one partner to another, writes Neena Vyas.

THE MUSICAL chairs in the National Democratic Alliance has become a cartoonist's delight - ``political circumstances'' change, the party which left the Alliance decides to come back even as another one threatens to quit, and it goes on and on. One cartoon described the NDA as a ``national departure and arrival'' lounge, and another showed it as a hotel lobby where ``guests'' are always checking in and out.

Soon after the 1998 Vajpayee Government was first sworn in (not counting the 13-day Government in 1996), Cabinet Ministers started to fall - the AIADMK (then a partner in the ruling coalition) was forced to withdraw its nominee, Mr. Sedapatti Muthiah, because some charges had been brought against him; another AIADMK Minister, the late R. K. Kumar, also fell from grace; and finally, Mr. Buta Singh (independent) was virtually forced out, again because of some corruption charges. And Ms. Sushma Swaraj (BJP) went out of the Cabinet to take on her short- lived assignment as Delhi Chief Minister while Mr. Madan Lal Khurana, the too, too articulate Parliamentary Affairs Minister, resigned in a huff after first bad-mouthing the RSS and then the Prime Minister himself. The plain opportunism displayed by the Vajpayee-led coalition at the Centre could perhaps be best illustrated by the fact that much like a political Don Juan, Mr. Vajpayee had at one time the two bitter rivals in Haryana, Mr. Bansi Lal and Mr. Om Prakash Chautala, hanging from his arms vying with each other for his favour.

And of course, when towards the end of the 13-month Government the grand alliance between the BJP and the AIADMK chief, Ms. J. Jayalalithaa, came to an end - after the BJP had successfully wooed to its side the AIADMK's partners in the Tamil Nadu front - the BJP lost no time whatsoever in finding a bedfellow in the DMK, and taking with it to its new love the erstwhile supporters of Ms. Jayalalithaa. The MDMK and the PMK who were part of Ms. Jayalalithaa's entourage now became the loyal followers of Mr. M. Karunanidhi, only to leave the DMK again at a later opportune date. Since then the PMK is back in the snug embrace of the NDA.

In politics there may be no permanent friends or enemies, after all the game is all about coming to power and, more importantly, staying there. But few parties have displayed the kind of skills the BJP has in jumping from one partner to another and wanting to cohabit with two opposing political forces and making a virtue of it as well.

By the time the 1999 Lok Sabha elections were held, the BJP was smart enough not only to set up the NDA as a pre-poll alliance but also announce a common manifesto, the National Agenda for Governance. That gave it a more permanent identity even if partners in the enterprise continued to come and go; the NDA would surely complete its five-year tenure.

But the two years since this Government came into being have also not been without dramatic moments despite the more than comfortable majority given to it by some two dozen coalition partners. Even before the Council of Ministers was sworn in, the first to make his way into the NDA was Dr. Farooq Abdullah, whose party, the National Conference, had fought against the BJP in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. He put in an appearance on the very day the Agenda for Governance was being formally released. He was Chief Minister, why should he deny his son an opportunity to be Minister at the Centre? And it was also important for the NC to be seen to be strengthening the Centre.

Some coalition partners decided to adopt a wait and watch policy - Ms. Mamata Banerji preferred to keep her Trinamool Congress out of Government, so did Mr. Om Prakash Chautala who was not sharing power with the BJP in Haryana. But when the NDA stabilised the Trinamool Congress MPs became restive and in walked Ms. Banerji having got Mr. Vajpayee to concede the Railway Ministry to her for which he had to dislodge Samata Party's Mr. Nitish Kumar from that much-sought-after slot.

And then the story is well known; she threatened to resign for every ``public cause'' in the ``interests of the common man'' and finally walked out (arm-in-arm with the Congress Party) after demanding that Mr. George Fernandes be thrown out for national security reasons after the Tehelka affair. Since then Mr. Fernandes has wooed her assiduously and brought her back to the NDA, perhaps hoping that she would in turn work to get him back his plum portfolio as Defence Minister.

The last round of Assembly elections saw not only the Trinamool Congress deserting the NDA but also the PMK walking out of its partnership with the DMK to join up with Ms. Jayalalithaa whose electoral fortunes had looked up. But after winning many Assembly seats with the AIADMK help, the PMK is back in the NDA, now waiting to be rehabilitated in the Council of Ministers as well. And it is to be seen how long it will take the Trinamool Congress to muscle its way back into the Cabinet, after all, there will be nothing on offer in West Bengal for the next five years.

Perhaps the strongest criticism of what has been going on came from within the BJP. The party president, Mr. Jana Krishnamurthi, remarked that the NDA was not a railway compartment with passengers going in and out at every station. He wanted ``norms'' to be written down for ``re-entry'', but the Trinamool Congress and the PMK are back without any ``norms''. The last round of Assembly elections also witnessed the Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, announcing that the Asom Gana Parishad would be part of the NDA for the BJP fought the Assam elections with the AGP. But after their rout, there is no word on the status of the AGP. Who needs a party which has no Lok Sabha MP and only a lone member in the Rajya Sabha?

And then there were the side-shows - Ms. Uma Bharti walking out and then walking back into the Council of Ministers; Ms. Sushma Swaraj being ``rehabilitated'' as Cabinet Minister, and Mr. Ram Jethmalani making a fiery exit as Law Minister after crossing swords with the Attorney-General, Mr. Soli Sorabjee, and the Chief Justice, Mr. A. S. Anand. It was as undignified a show as it could get, with the then Law Minister accusing the Attorney- General of lack of ethics and charging the Chief Justice with falsifying his age. But the NDA had the majority and its Government continued unabashedly. Mr. Jethmalani paid the price and was asked to quit, which he did.

As Mr. Vajpayee himself remarked the other day when speaking to the BJP parliamentary party, the NDA has gone from strength to strength.

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