BJP TODAY

May 1--15, 2003 - Vol. 12, No. 09

MP Competiting with Bihar for Downward slide-Uma Bharati
Bhopal: From battling the many bosses in her party to winning the chief ministerial nomination, it has been a long journey for Uma Bharati in Madhya Pradesh. She talks to Vidya Subrahmaniam about the challenges in the coming elections:

Your party is projecting you as the next CM. Is this the Gujarat plan? Aggressive leader, aggressive campaign?

Announcing the chief ministerial candidate helps to lend focus to the campaign. But my own view is that elected MLAs must elect their leader.

How do you see your prospects?

Digvijay's 10 years have virtually ensured our victory. Today, MP is competing with Bihar in all respects. Worse, the secret of Digvijay's success is now out in the open: Manipulative politics. The first time he won on a false pretext by promising that a Dalit or an OBC will be made chief minister. In 1998, he manipulated the electoral rolls, a truth that has now been exposed by the EC. Digvijay always claimed that he headed no department. Yet, he headed the dirty tricks department. But truth ultimately wins.

Suddenly, James Michael Lyngdoh has become a hero for the BJP.

I never condemned Mr. Lyngdoh. I think I was the only one in the BJP, even during the Gujarat elections, who said that the EC's orders must be followed.

Will this election be fought on Hindutva, Bhojshala?

These issues are raised by the media. I want to talk about roads and power, they ask about Bhojshala. I don't want to make Bhojshala an issue at all. For me, it's just a matter of faith.

Will you give a guarantee that you will not raise religion in this election?

If Digvijay raises it, can I say where is Bhojshala? Is it in Lahore, is it in New York? It is the Congress that is communally tainted. In 1949, Nehru communalised Ayodhya, and in 1991, Rajiv Gandhi started his campaign from Ayodhya, promising Ram Rajya. I don't say we didn't get involved. I'm proud of the Ayodhya movement which reflected the national sentiment. Ram is not only a religious figure, he is a national figure. However, in this state, I want to really cut out the north Indian obsession with non-development issues. I want to raise issues that affect people directly.

If Digvijay says he will not make Bhojshala an issue, then the test of this lies in his opening its doors. After all, the District Collector, the Centre, and even the Muslims have said they want the doors opened. Digvijay is the one who had made it an issue. We should go back to the pre-1997 position, when both Muslims and Hindus were allowed to go to the site.

But that was subject to the condition that no puja will be performed.

We are not asking to perform puja.

How does Digvijay benefit by raising Bhojshala?

He wants to win the votes of Muslims. But his critics say he is more pro-Hindutva than you. I don't need to prove my Hindu credentials. A chaste woman doesn't have to prove her chastity to her husband. I don't need to prove my commitment to Hindutva. For Digvijay, Hindutva is a political game, for me it is a conviction.

In that case why do you want to reopen these issues at the Centre? The BJP is now openly talking about reverting to its core agenda. We have never said we have dropped our agenda.

All we say is that we have adopted the NDA agenda.

Digvijay has uniformly been acknowledged to be a master political manager. How will you deal with this?

Actually, people are sick of his political management. Look at his track record - poor roads, no power, unemployment, Dalit women stripped naked. Logon ko chid ho gayee hai. All I have to do is to touch this nerve. His 10 years are my biggest advantage. His being known as a political manager will work to my advantage.

What are your disadvantages?

My biggest disadvantage, which I'm trying to overcome, is my temperament. I have always been individualistic, I've always been listened to. Forging a consensus is an altogether new experience for me. But I have to learn to do it. I have decided to shed my individuality. I'll go with folded hands to every one of my workers, I'll bow my head at their doorstep. This is painful, but I have to do it.

Obviously, you have learnt this from Digvijay.

I don't have to. I'm a complete person - a woman, an OBC, and a sanyasin. I've known poverty. I can globetrot as easily as I can travel in a bullock cart. Above all, I have strong convictions. Hindutva is an article of faith with me, not a political weapon.

But aren't you whimsical? One moment you renounce everything and head for the Himalayas, next you are a Minister, then you resign again and sit at home.

I'm not cut out for politics. My Kedarnath experience was genuine, but the Prime Minister convinced me that politics was the only place where I could meaningfully contribute. My Guruji said the same. I'm a changed person now. For me politics is a penance - my aim is to achieve salvation for myself and happiness for the world.

(Courtesy, Time of India)