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Woman Power During Rath Yatra

Save Water or Perish

The Temples of Uttaranchal

Media Pulse

It is not an exaggeration to say that the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, which has completed nearly half of its five-year term, would collapse like a pack of cards if by any chance A. B. Vajpayee does not remain the Prime Minister. He is the cementing force among the disparate parties with different ideologies, who are staying along with the BJP for the sake of power. It is the art of compromise not only within the NDA but also with the opposition parties, that has helped Vajpayee survive many crises. Among the hardliners in the BJP, Vajpayee is the moderate voice who has always won around the critical Congress and Left leaders. Whether on the vexed Ayodhya issue, the Prevention of Terrorism Act or the Gujarat riots, it was the experience and charisma of Vajpayee that has seen the NDA tide over the opposition attack. And it was his political acumen that made Vajpayee opt for scientist A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and spring a surprise on the Congress and virtually divide the opposition on the nomination of a President candidate.

The No2 man in the government, Home Minister Advani is considered the natural successor to Vajpayee. He is also the favourite of the hardcore Hindutva lobby, headed by the RSS. However, to his credit, despite intense media speculation, Advani has never tried to undermine the authority of the Prime Minister nor projected himself as the alternative leader. Though, on the issue of Ayodhya, he has been frank as a supporter of the temple movement, during the recent Gujarat carnage, he preferred to stay in the background and did not complicate matters with his comments. On the issue of tackling terrorism, he has been totally in tune with the tough stand taken by the Prime Minister and ruling out either talks or pullback of troops alert on the border, till Pakistan came up with clear proof of having checked the militants from crossing over into India.

As the daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi stayed mostly in the background as long as Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister. Her Italian origin was the subject of derisive comments in the media but she kept a dignified silence. It was the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi at the hands of an LTTE female suicide bomber, that put Sonia in the limelight. The Congress, which always valued the Gandhi name, was quick to project her as the new leader of the party. The old band of Congress leaders fell in line though with some reservations. Sonia's political acumen was untested at the time and the opposition did not view her political entry seriously. It was only when the Congress began winning the elections, that the partymen realised she was a bankable star. She came to nearly becoming the Prime Minister, when the Vajpayee government fell after a trust motion, but was thwarted by the Samajwadi party, which objected to her foreign origin. But Sonia is more mature now and her party is in control in 14 States. As the popularity of the BJP declines, there are enough pointers that India could well have a foreign-born Prime Minister after the next Lok Sabha elections.

The safari-clad Jaswant Singh has proved to be a very competent Foreign Minister. He is the PM's troubleshooter in matters of foreign policy. Widely respected in international circles, he is thorough in the subject he is dealing with and has been able to turn the West's opinion in favour of India in the current face-off with Pakistan.

Yashant Sinha is one of those leaders the BJP is not very comfortable working with. His continuation of the reforms process has sparked off a lot of criticism by the Swadeshi brigade. He has been unable to live up to expectations. Though trusted by the Prime Minister, he is currently under a cloud for some of his dealings and unpopular decisions. He could well lose his portfolio in the next reshuffle of the Cabinet.

Stepping down after five years of distinguished service at Rashtrapati Bhavan, K. R. Narayanan is the people's President, who was above party politics and showed his concern for the country's image at every step. He made it clear that he would be an "active President" and not a mere a rubber stamp. On issues like the review of the Constitution, rewriting of history books for schools or the Gujarat communal riots, Narayanan made known hids displeasure quite clearly. On a few occasions, he highlighted the plight of the underprivileged and the Dalits. Though egged on by the opposition, he conducted himself with dignity and refused to be tempted by the possibility of fighting for a second term, which had been denied by the ruling coalition.

Defence Minister George Fernandes has always been in the eye of a storm. The infamous Tehelka scandal was exposed during his tenure and left the Defence establishment totally redfaced. The entire opposition was after him, seeking his resignation but the Prime Minister stood by him. His relationship with the Samata Party general secretary Jaya Jaitl ey too was the subject of criticism. The exposure of Coffingate, the purchase of coffins at high rates for the Kargil heroes, too landed him in trouble and he had to face the flak. But he has survived and has been employed by the Prime Minister to explain the case of India in foreign countries.

The only Congress Prime Minister outside the Nehru-Gandhi family, to run a government for five years, Narasimha Rao made the politics of inaction into a survival tactic. A man of few words, Rao tided over many scams during his tenure and in fact, increased the strength of the Congress in the Lok Sabha for stability. It was in 1992 during his leadrship that the demolition of Babri Masjid took place, but by putting the entire blame on the BJP zeolots Rao disowned any responsibility. An erudite scholar, he is back in the inner circle of Sonia Gandhi after getting virtually absolved by the courts in various scams.

If the Indan economy is looking up with the entry of MNCs and boost to domestic production, Congress leader Manmohan Singh should take a lot of credit. The architect of economic liberalisation, Singh is more of an economist than a politician. Gentle and unassuming, Manmohan Singh is the man to watch in a party where there is virtually no challenge to Sonia's leadership. He has never got into any unseemly scandal and has a clean image.

Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu holds the record of running West Bengal as Chief Minister for nearly too decades. Virtually unchallenged, Basu made his State the citadel of the Leftists and no party could dethrone him. Respected by the entire Left bloc, only recently Basu made way for his close aide Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. He came close to becoming the Prime Minister at the time when the United Front was looking for a candidate, but the party did not allow him to accept the offer. Later, he went on to regret the decision as a "historic blunder."

One of the shrewdest politicians and a favourite of cartoonists, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Laloo Prasad Yadav has seen many ups and downs but has always managed to stay afloat. Just when he was on the verge of landing in jail over the multimillion fodder scam, he got his wife Rabri Devi to manage the affairs of Bihar. He has dismissed all charges of graft against him as politically motivated. Immensely popular for his wit and informal dress, Laloo has thrived on the anti-communalism plank and proved that for Indians corruption is a way of life and has no relation with personal charisma.

Short-lived alliances

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