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George Iype in New Delhi
A day after the severe drubbing that the Bharatiya Janata Party received at the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, a section of party leaders are complaining that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee no longer possesses the political charisma to charm the voters and win elections.
Throughout Monday, BJP leaders were huddled together in meetings discussing the impact of getting trounced in the elections to the four states.
It is the first such significant political defeat that has hit the party since the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government came to power at the Centre in 1999.
Though publicly most party leaders and MPs showed a sense of unity and confidence in the leadership of Vajpayee, many of them privately admitted that the defeat in the politically crucial state of UP is a setback to the prime minister's leadership abilities.
"The sad thing is that the BJP now is reduced to running just three state governments -- Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand. So there is no cause for comfort, though we are ruling at the Centre," a BJP Member of Parliament pointed out.
"It is a huge setback because the poll outcome has exposed our party's declining political influence in the states," the MP added.
Many squarely blame Prime Minister Vajpayee for the battering at the hustings.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singal claimed that one of the most important reasons why the BJP lost the elections in UP was because of the Vajpayee government's mishandling of the Ayodhya issue.
During the run up to the elections, Vajpayee and Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani had struck hard tones vis-à-vis Ayodhya, as the VHP stepped up its campaign for the construction of the Ram temple.
Vajpayee during the election campaigning also said that he as the Prime Minister failed to solve the Ayodhya dispute.
The Vajpayee government's public posture so far has been that VHP will not be allowed to start construction of the temple in Ayodhya from March 15, till the Supreme Court pronounces its verdict on a series of Ayodhya-related cases.
"Yes, the Vajpayee government has not properly handled the Ayodhya issue. The election results in Uttar Pradesh prove it," Singhal told rediff.com.
But the fractured mandate in UP has not cheered up Hindu leaders like Singhal. They fear that no coalition government that comes to power in Lucknow will be able to help the VHP with its Ram temple construction plans.
"When the BJP government at the Centre is treating us like an enemy, how can you expect a hotchpotch coalition government at Lucknow to help us," a VHP leader asked.
BJP leaders also point out that another reason that led to the collapse of the party in UP and Uttaranchal was Vajpayee's meddling in those states by appointing wrong chief ministers.
While in Uttar Pradesh, former chief minister Ram Prakash Gupta was Vajpayee's own choice, Nityanand Swamy and B S Koshiyari in Uttaranchal were also ardent Vajpayee supporters.
"Vajpayee selected the wrong chief ministers and has now nearly destroyed the BJP's sway among the masses in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal," a BJP leader said.
"I think Vajpayee has lost the ability and political charm to lead the party in elections," he added.
Though Vajpayee held consultations with senior party colleagues and the National Democratic Alliance leaders to take stock of the emerging scenario on Monday, many believe it is going to be tough days ahead for the prime minister.
The electoral debacle is unlikely to affect Vajpayee's coalition government in the near future. But the loss of UP and other states and the dominance of Congress and other regional parties in most states across the country will surely be a cause for concern for Vajpayee in the days ahead.
More importantly, many BJP leaders fear that the party's drubbing will certainly reduce the status of the party as a dominant player in the 24-party NDA coalition at the Centre.
