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Hijack drama looms large over BJP conclave

N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras

The three-day meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party executive and national council which began in Madras early this morning promises to be a tame affair, what with the hijack drama involving an Indian Airlines plane looming large over the session.

With Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declining to attend the inaugural day's session and his public meeting tomorrow also doubtful, the conclave, which at one stage threatened to divide the party on ideological lines, is likely to end peacefully.

"Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party," said a senior BJP leader now in town. "The nation is facing a major crisis and so is the party. This is not the time for internal squabbles."

Indications are that the conclave may now focus only on organisational matters.

Politically, the party is likely to rally around the prime minister just like it did during the Kargil crisis. "But that was a different ball-game," the party leader said. "The hijacking is a much more complicated situation. We will have to be very, very careful.''

"It is a national crisis and we need not over-stress the need for an experienced, level-headed and astute leader like Vajpayee around. With anybody else, it would have been a compromise," said another leader.

As far as the party's national agenda is concerned the leader referred to general secretary K N Govindacharya's statement in Hyderabad where he said that all contentious issues should be put in cold storage for five years.

"It's a finely worded statement," said the leader pointing out that Govindacharya has kept the future options open. "But for the present, Govindacharya seems to be conceding to the moderate stance of the party.''

Though it may thus be a short-term gain for the moderates, sources said the introspection that would follow the hijack drama may be very crucial.

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