Firefighters Were In Place

Four of the five, Pramod Mahajan, K Govindacharya, Kushabhau Thakre and K Venkaiah Naidu, were in Gujarat yesterday, hoping to see the party safely through the trial of strength. Some of them have been hamstrung by their own misgivings, though. We will win majority, but the main problem (infighting) will remain, said one of them a few days ago.

They planned mass campaigns, for one of which the fifth general secretary, Sushma Swaraj, was also present in the last few days, even while using every technique in and outside the book to bring back its lost sheep to the fold. However, they appear to have been less successful than last year to enthuse the VHP cadre and sadhus to take up cudgels against the rebels.

 

Yesterday's tryst with a confidence motion was not forced on the party, which itself fixed an early date after it decided the risks of keeping 18 MLAs in virtual captivity until September 23