HVK Archives: Will of the people
Will of the people - The Pioneer
The Editorial
()
March 3, 1998
Title: Will of the people
Author: The Editorial
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 3, 1998
Any other Outcome of the vote of confidence sought by Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the Lok Sabha would have been
unmitigated disaster as it would have thrown India off the
precipice once again. To that extent even the political critics
of the BJP, at least those who still look beyond their provincial
noses, must have heaved a sigh of relief that Mr Vajpayee
succeeded in securing more than enough votes to demonstrate his
majority. Despite his evident love of the suspense drama genre,
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu stuck to his
word, ensuring that TDP MPs cast their vote in favour of
stability. Had he persisted with his previous formulation of
equidistance and abstained from voting, the ruling alliance would
have lacked the necessary legitimacy even if they squeaked past
the required mark. In fact, even Dr Farooq Abdullah's National
Conference also played a crucial role by abstaining in the face
of a near-revolt by one of its two Lok Sabha MPs. With the
support that the alliance now enjoys from virtually every corner
of the country, Mr Vajpayee must be deemed to have a national
mandate. As TDP leaders pointed out, there was near unanimity in
this year's election that Mr Vajpayee was the ablest contended
for the Prime Minister's office. If the alliance Government had
been felled by the conspiratorial urges of, some Leftist leaders
and their fellow travellers, it would have been a betrayal of the
nationwide urge to see him as Prime Minister. Further, the
regional parties rightly assessed that following Ms Sonia
Gandhi's decision to acquire the party presidentship, the
Congress could no longer be regarded as an accommodating
organisation; in fact, her accession irretrievably characterises
the Congress as an anti-federal force with which most of them
would not like to do business.
Despite crossing the first hurdle with reasonable comfort, Mr
Vajpayee must be acutely aware that his Government will not be
regarded as one that is likely to complete its full five-year
tenure. Some of his allies are known to be mavericks of an
exceptionally high order. They also have powerful personal
agendas not all of which are quite above board. While the BJP is
expected to redouble .its efforts to cajole Mr Naidu to join the
Ministry and act as a stabilising force, present indications are
that the TDP chief may not take a decision in a hurry. Although
Mr Naidu does have fairly substantial reasons for vacillating,
the sooner he takes a firm decision the better it would be both
for his own image and the nation's confidence. The first task
before the Government being to launch an all-out effort to
reconstruct the ravaged economy, a stable Government is a sine
qua non for India's economic recovery. Given his own concern with
development, Mr Naidu is bound to realise ,the tremendous impact
his decision to participate in the Government would have on its
longevity. It is only after the Government's medium-term
survival has been ensured that Mr Vajpayee can-devote serious
attention to the daunting task of fulfilling the hopes and
aspirations that brought him to office. All this will require an
exceptional degree of managerial skill. The maturity and
experience of Mr Vajpayee and Home Minister LK Advani, however,
suggest that they will rise to the challenge.
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