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HVK Archives: We are for an integrated nation without barriers

We are for an integrated nation without barriers - The Times of India

Bhaskar Roy ()
April 7, 1998

Title: We are for an integrated nation without barriers
Author: Bhaskar Roy
Publication: The Times of India
Date: April 7, 1998

Unlike the other Young Turks in the BJP, M Venkaiah Naidu first
emerged as a mass leader, won an Assembly election and then
occupied an important position in the party. Normally the
Pracharakpoliticians are first groomed in the organisation before
they look for safe seats to enter Parliament. But then Naidu has
always tended to charter an unusual course. Born into a farmer's
family in Udaigiri, Nellore, Naidu entered the Andhra Pradesh
Assembly as early as 1978. In the 1998 elections he emerged as
the BJP's most prominent southern leader As the party spokesman
he was holding forth before television cameras. A party once
accused of being a Hindi-Hindu proponent, had a spokesman from
the deep South, someone who was a little apologetic about his own
Hindi. Soon after the results were out, he conveyed to the
partnership his decision to remain in the organisation instead,
of occupying a ministerial chair. In an interview with Bhaskar
Roy he talked about the party's rise in the South and his
plans for yet another campaign Excerpts:

Q. How do you explain the BJP's southern surge? Always known
as the Hindi heartland party, it surprisingly dented the South in
a big way.

A. That's true. We and our allies together got 50 out of a
total 132 seats in the south -this is an all-time high for our
party At the height of the Janata wave in 1977 the non Congress
alliance could pick up one seat in Andhra Pradesh, two in Tamil
Nadu and three in Karnataka. We could see that the voters were
holding a surprise this time round.

What really made the difference?
Were the strategic alliances responsible for your good show?

Our performance can be attributed to three factors: the hard work
of the BJP cadre, our campaign highlighting the problems of
people and the alliances. Soon after the 1991 elections we
realised that unless we could make inroads in the South, we would
not be able to make it to Delhi. To expand our base we drafted a
social charter for the whole region. We decided to focus on the
farmers' problems, agriculture labour, fishermen, toddy-tappers,
bidimakers, slum-dwellers and weavers.

What kind of response did the campaign evoke?

The response was tremendous. We decided that in every state in
the South we would spend 45 days in villages every year. Our
Tamil Nadu unit chief Dr Chandra Bose led a march from Chennai to
Kanya Kumari. In Karnataka the slogan was: "Let us go to Hubli."
The Frequent tours of both Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani to the South
also made an impact. The political realignment process - parties
leaving their allies for new ones -also helped.

Are the results an indication that the BJP has been able to carve
out a space in the South, or it was just a fluke, matter of a
wave that often comes and goes?

The people in the South did not like the opportunistic alliances
-the DMK opposing the Congress in the state and at the same time
taking its help to share power at the Centre, the Janata Dal
fighting the Congress in Karnataka and cooperating with it in
Delhi. The BJP's anti-establishment stand paid rich dividends. It
stood out when compared with parties like the DMK, JD and TDP One
of our election slogans in Andhra that became popular, said,
"Cooperation in Delhi and operation in Andhra will not do."

Surely the BJP did not do so well on its own?

The tactical alliances did help with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu,
with Ramakrishna Hegde's Lok Shakti in Karnataka and Laxmi
Parvati in Andhra Pradesh. In Andhra the BJP tried to steal the
NTR legacy. Our campaign gained so much momentum that between
August 15 and December 15, three lakh people joined the BJP in
the state. Was there a North-South divide so far as the party's
leadership appeal was concerned?

There was a tremendous amount of goodwill for Atalji. The two-day
Parliamentary debate in 1996 brought the focus on Vajpayee. The
live telecast which was watched by the people all over the
country, created a feeling that he had been wronged, that
injustice had been done to him. There was a groundswell of
sympathy for him. His appeal was as strong in the South as in
other parts of the country.

Is it not strange that a party traditionally identified with the
Hindi heartland, could take root in the South as well?

Those anti-Hindi sentiments were diluted long time back. The late
MGR and Jayalalitha both took very positive steps in removing
misgivings. Today the younger generation in the South wont to
learn Hindi because they know it helps in getting jobs.
Television and films have also played a role in bridging the gap.
In fact, Advaniji's extensive tours to birthplaces of historical
figures in the South made a deep impact. The mood has changed,
for the BJP it is an integrated nation without barriers.

Why did you opt for the organisation and say no to a ministerial
berth particularly when you had
long legislative experience?

I want to work in the organisation. Very soon we will start
another intensive campaign in the southern states where Assembly
elections are due next year.


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