Even if the BJP wins in Gujarat, it does not mean that the hate wave which the party rides will spread to other parts of the country. The Hindutva appeal does not sell beyond the Hindi-speaking States. In Bihar, Laloo Yadav’s preserve, it does not. In fact, the caste factor determines elections in the Hindi-speaking States. Even in Gujarat, though it is not a Hindi-speaking State, caste has come to the fore. True, left to the BJP, which is guided by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Gujarat, Hindutva and the Italian birth of Congress President Sonia Gandhi would have been the party’s poll plank.

The anti-Muslim rhetoric, which has characterised Modi’s yatras and his desire to display the replica of the burnt Godhra bogie, would have been grist to the election propaganda mill. But Vajpayee has upset the applecart by pointing out that if "the Godhra or the post-Godhra violence" is recalled, "it will look as if there is no other issue and that the voters are being toyed with." This has created confusion in the Hindutva ranks. Modi may still play the Hindu card. He thinks he can harvest the Hindu voters after having sown the seed of hatred against the minorities, especially the Muslims.

Reports are that he does not want any Central leader to campaign in his State because he believes he can win single-handedly. And if he can do so, he will be able to stake his claim to the prime ministership one day. He is mistaken. He cannot take the Gujaratis for a ride any more because they can see through him. He does not enjoy even a fraction of the respect which Keshubhai Patel, his predecessor, commands.

For obvious reasons, Modi has the support of the VHP which openly says that it prefers him to Vajpayee. That the BJP should be on the side of the VHP is understandable. They are members of the same parivar, no matter what press statements by different leaders say. But how can the two behave in the same manner? While the VHP thrives on irresponsibility, the BJP leads the coalition at the Centre and carries on its shoulders the task of running the country. Still the two are so enmeshed that it is difficult to say which person is a member of which organisation. It looks as if the VHP comes to the fore when the law is sought to be violated or when the purpose is to abuse the critics, denigrate the opposition or threaten the authorities. The BJP takes over when it comes to presenting a case a bit cogently, when belligerency does not go down well. Their masks may be different, but they have the same faces. The VHP says that the Chief Election Commissioner (he is a Christian) has a "religious bias." The VHP dubs him anti-Hindu. The BJP blames him for lack of restraint. The VHP says it will defy the ban on the yatra. The BJP defends the VHP’s right to launch the Vijay yatra to commemorate the demolition of the Babri Masjid a decade ago.

The BJP has the right to assert that every organisation is free to carry out its programmes, but not pogroms. The ruling BJP has to ensure that the extra-constitutional authority which the VHP and the Bajrang Dal are assuming is curbed for the sake of governance, if not for the country.

From the point of view of the BJP, there is another factor it must guard against. If the extra-constitutional authority of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal is not curbed, they will become a Frankenstein’s monster which may devour the BJP one day. Bhindranwale, during Indira Gandhi’s regime, is a case in point. The BJP and the VHP cannot wipe out the impression that they are two sides of the same coin. To call the VHP a religious or social organisation is to hoodwink the public. The BJP leaders were hand-in-glove with the VHP in the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The two are together, arm in arm, in the election campaign. The two have jointly selected the candidates for the Gujarat poll.

What is disturbing about the BJP-VHP strategy is the manner in which it is vitiating the atmosphere. Those who are against it are dubbed anti-national or ISI agents. It reminds me of the McCarthyism that swept America in the Fifties and the Sixties. Senator McCarthy ousted liberals from academic institutions, human rights activists and independent thinkers from top government positions. The hullabaloo that the "Communists" were dictating America’s policies and programmes made people afraid of their own shadow. The Hindutva zealots are trying to create the same type of atmosphere in India. Fear is what they are trying to instil. To some extent they are succeeding. People are afraid to protest even when the treatment meted out to them is unjust. They increasingly believe that it does not pay to speak out.