rediff.com: The Rediff Interview/ Pramod Mahajan

'When I look back, I am definitely surprised at what I have done'

The Rediff Interview/Pramod Mahajan

Part I: 'Obviously, Advaniji is the person after Atalji'
Changing trends of coalition governments
If you compare the Janata coalition and this one, you will find they are distinct, not at all comparable.
First of all, the Janata government was born out of a movement, while this government was born out of adjustments.
Second, the Janata party, however feeble its internal unity, still had a facade of a single party that this coalition doesn't have. Since it was born out of a movement, the Janata government enjoyed more popularity initially than this government did.
But this government is more tenable than that one. In the Janata experiment, the government was formed first and the party came later. The Janata Party was the product of the government, normally in a democracy it is the other way round. In a movement, you are always on an emotional ground, which is not the case here, and that is its real strength. It is on a rational plane. Every party has come together knowing fully well that we have differences of opinion. We went to the people with a common programme and a leader. So that makes it more pragmatic and durable compared to all the previous coalitions. Because it is not emotive, it is rational, pragmatic.
At that time, though they elected Morarji as their leader, nobody really accepted his supremacy. At least his immediate successors never accepted him. This is not the case with Vajpayee. Nobody in the BJP or the NDA thinks he is as good as Vajpayee.
Another thing people forget is that out of the 270-odd Janata MPs, the biggest group was of the BJP (Jan Sangh), about 97 or so. Morarjibhai, Babu Jagjivan Ram, Charan Singh and Chandra Shekhar didn't have a following of even 20 each. Vajpayee had the maximum following in that coalition also, so it was really a strange one.
Today, two-thirds of the coalition's strength comes from the BJP. I would say the only negative part of this coalition is that it is not born out of any emotive issue but now even that has become our asset. Here, its leader's status is totally different from the earlier non-Congress coalitions of Morarji Desai, V P Singh, Deve Gowda or I K Gujral. None of them was head and shoulders above the others.
Here it's not so, and it makes Vajpayee more powerful.
Ideals have nothing to do with coalitions. Jayaprakash Narayan should have given the same advice to the Janata Party that Mahatma Gandhi gave the Congress.
Today we are honest about our differences of opinion. There is no ideology and why should I regret that?
This government is more transparent, we know we differ with each other on many issues. The BJP believes in the Ram Mandir, abrogation of Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, but barring the Shiv Sena, most of our alliance partners do not share our perceptions.
Now, how can you have an ideological base to any coalition where you differ on such issues? Why do you need it?
When we went to the people in the last election we did not hide anything, we had transparent differences of opinion! We told the public that yes, we have differences of opinion, but we have kept them aside and here is our common programme which will be implemented.
I don't see any dispute within the government on the Ram Mandir issue. Unfortunately, this dispute is more in the media. Everyone knows that the Mandir is not on the NDA's agenda. Unlike the Janata experiment, under Vajpayee's leadership the alliance has become stronger by the day. And despite stories of what Mamataji thinks about the oil prices, the alliance has not been weakened.
Vajpayee has now proved beyond doubt that a coalition government can succeed. And I think we are slowly developing a coalition attitude, a coalition dharma. It will take little time for 22 political parties to adopt this dharma. But it is happening. Compare what happened in 1998-99 to what is happening now. Then people said our government was on daily wages, but today no one questions the stability of the government.
On his media image and competitors in the party
What does a middle class person like? A good-looking person, not necessarily very handsome person. They like a person with a good dress sense, someone who is articulate in English and Hindi. Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah and myself are liked by the people. At a personal level, I don't read too much into this urban middle class, idiot box followers' reactions as an acceptance of leadership at the national level. When you deal directly with the masses, how they react is very important for leadership. Television needs one or two bytes and that's enough. Yes, it helps political leaders. Gone are the days when people said, 'I heard your name', now they say 'I have seen you'. If not now, within ten years, when I will not be an important player, looks, style and the ability to articulate will have their own importance.
Just look at what is happening between Bush and Gore. Gore is pushing ahead only because of TV debates. The days are not far away in India when these things will matter. But sometimes its pains me to think that the BJP has only three or four people like this.
Now let me tell you about the competition among us. You must be thinking about Jeffrey Archer 's book First Among Equals where four people compete and one becomes prime minister. I don't think at the present level we are competing. Naturally, everybody is doing a job and while doing it he or she would like to be the best. But suppose Sushma is addressing a public meeting in Tamil Nadu and I am addressing one in Haryana, we would each like our own public meeting to succeed. Why should that be taken as competition between us? I think the BJP needs hundreds of Pramod Mahajans and Sushmas if we really dream to come into our own. And if you are talking about the competition to become the number one leader of the party, if you ask me, up to the cabinet minister level there is an effort. After that it is not so.
Madhavrao Scindia had once said, 'After that it's luck and not calibre.'
So it's a premature question. You don't need to compete with anybody for this.
The taste of power
There is no taste. I am a student of political science, I have completed my masters in political science.
Power is the only instrument which helps to turn dreams into reality. In 1973, I entered politics from a small village when I participated in an anti-drought movement which led me to the Jan Sangh. I never dreamt that one day I will become a cabinet minister. I have spent 27 years in politics, I have not achieved anything overnight.
That's a pretty long time. When I sit and look back, I am definitely surprised at what I have done.
Part I: 'Obviously, Advaniji is the person after Atalji'
The Rediff Interviews

Tell us what you think of this interview

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	The Rediff Interview/Pramod Mahajan Part I: 'Obviously, Advaniji is the person after Atalji' Changing trends of coalition governments If you compare the Janata coalition and this one, you will find they are distinct, not at all comparable. First of all, the Janata government was born out of a movement, while this government was born out of adjustments. Second, the Janata party, however feeble its internal unity, still had a facade of a single party that this coalition doesn't have. Since it was born out of a movement, the Janata government enjoyed more popularity initially than this government did. But this government is more tenable than that one. In the Janata experiment, the government was formed first and the party came later. The Janata Party was the product of the government, normally in a democracy it is the other way round. In a movement, you are always on an emotional ground, which is not the case here, and that is its real strength. It is on a rational plane. Every party has come together knowing fully well that we have differences of opinion. We went to the people with a common programme and a leader. So that makes it more pragmatic and durable compared to all the previous coalitions. Because it is not emotive, it is rational, pragmatic. At that time, though they elected Morarji as their leader, nobody really accepted his supremacy. At least his immediate successors never accepted him. This is not the case with Vajpayee. Nobody in the BJP or the NDA thinks he is as good as Vajpayee. Another thing people forget is that out of the 270-odd Janata MPs, the biggest group was of the BJP (Jan Sangh), about 97 or so. Morarjibhai, Babu Jagjivan Ram, Charan Singh and Chandra Shekhar didn't have a following of even 20 each. Vajpayee had the maximum following in that coalition also, so it was really a strange one. Today, two-thirds of the coalition's strength comes from the BJP. I would say the only negative part of this coalition is that it is not born out of any emotive issue but now even that has become our asset. Here, its leader's status is totally different from the earlier non-Congress coalitions of Morarji Desai, V P Singh, Deve Gowda or I K Gujral. None of them was head and shoulders above the others. Here it's not so, and it makes Vajpayee more powerful. Ideals have nothing to do with coalitions. Jayaprakash Narayan should have given the same advice to the Janata Party that Mahatma Gandhi gave the Congress. Today we are honest about our differences of opinion. There is no ideology and why should I regret that? This government is more transparent, we know we differ with each other on many issues. The BJP believes in the Ram Mandir, abrogation of Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, but barring the Shiv Sena, most of our alliance partners do not share our perceptions. Now, how can you have an ideological base to any coalition where you differ on such issues? Why do you need it? When we went to the people in the last election we did not hide anything, we had transparent differences of opinion! We told the public that yes, we have differences of opinion, but we have kept them aside and here is our common programme which will be implemented. I don't see any dispute within the government on the Ram Mandir issue. Unfortunately, this dispute is more in the media. Everyone knows that the Mandir is not on the NDA's agenda. Unlike the Janata experiment, under Vajpayee's leadership the alliance has become stronger by the day. And despite stories of what Mamataji thinks about the oil prices, the alliance has not been weakened. Vajpayee has now proved beyond doubt that a coalition government can succeed. And I think we are slowly developing a coalition attitude, a coalition dharma. It will take little time for 22 political parties to adopt this dharma. But it is happening. Compare what happened in 1998-99 to what is happening now. Then people said our government was on daily wages, but today no one questions the stability of the government. On his media image and competitors in the party What does a middle class person like? A good-looking person, not necessarily very handsome person. They like a person with a good dress sense, someone who is articulate in English and Hindi. Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah and myself are liked by the people. At a personal level, I don't read too much into this urban middle class, idiot box followers' reactions as an acceptance of leadership at the national level. When you deal directly with the masses, how they react is very important for leadership. Television needs one or two bytes and that's enough. Yes, it helps political leaders. Gone are the days when people said, 'I heard your name', now they say 'I have seen you'. If not now, within ten years, when I will not be an important player, looks, style and the ability to articulate will have their own importance. Just look at what is happening between Bush and Gore. Gore is pushing ahead only because of TV debates. The days are not far away in India when these things will matter. But sometimes its pains me to think that the BJP has only three or four people like this. Now let me tell you about the competition among us. You must be thinking about Jeffrey Archer 's book First Among Equals where four people compete and one becomes prime minister. I don't think at the present level we are competing. Naturally, everybody is doing a job and while doing it he or she would like to be the best. But suppose Sushma is addressing a public meeting in Tamil Nadu and I am addressing one in Haryana, we would each like our own public meeting to succeed. Why should that be taken as competition between us? I think the BJP needs hundreds of Pramod Mahajans and Sushmas if we really dream to come into our own. And if you are talking about the competition to become the number one leader of the party, if you ask me, up to the cabinet minister level there is an effort. After that it is not so. Madhavrao Scindia had once said, 'After that it's luck and not calibre.' So it's a premature question. You don't need to compete with anybody for this. The taste of power There is no taste. I am a student of political science, I have completed my masters in political science. Power is the only instrument which helps to turn dreams into reality. In 1973, I entered politics from a small village when I participated in an anti-drought movement which led me to the Jan Sangh. I never dreamt that one day I will become a cabinet minister. I have spent 27 years in politics, I have not achieved anything overnight. That's a pretty long time. When I sit and look back, I am definitely surprised at what I have done. Part I: 'Obviously, Advaniji is the person after Atalji' The Rediff Interviews Tell us what you think of this interview
HOME \| NEWS \| CRICKET \| MONEY \| SPORTS \| MOVIES \| CHAT \| BROADBAND \| TRAVEL ASTROLOGY \| NEWSLINKS \| BOOK SHOP \| MUSIC SHOP \| GIFT SHOP \| HOTEL BOOKINGS AIR/RAIL \| WEDDING \| ROMANCE \| WEATHER \| WOMEN \| E-CARDS \| EDUCATION HOMEPAGES \| FREE MESSENGER \| FREE EMAIL \| CONTESTS \| FEEDBACK