Political face-offs didn’t sour Vajpayee-pawar friendship

MUMBAI: In 1999, a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee faced a no-confidence motion after 13 months in power. Faced with some formidable resistance from regional leaders like J Jayalalitha and Mayawati, the government fell because it was short of one vote. One of the politicians who played a key role in bringing the Opposition together was Sharad Pawar, then a member of the Congress party.

“Pawar was so confident about the future of Vajpayee government that a day before, he had predicted that the government will be short of one vote, as per his calculation, which turned out to be true the next day,” said journalist Anant Bagaitkar, who at the time covered national politics for a prominent Marathi daily.

And yet, despite being on opposite sides, Vajpayee and Pawar respected each other’s political acumen.

“His passing away is a personal loss, having spent numerous years in our parliamentary life together, and an irreparable loss to our country,” said Pawar, who formed his own party, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 1999.

On Wednesday, when the All India Institute of Medical Sciences released a notice saying Vajpayee’s medical condition was critical, Pawar wished him a speedy recovery on Twitter: “Deeply concerned with the critical health condition of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji! He is one of the greatest Indian leaders we have seen.”

Hours after the veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader passed away on Thrusday, Pawar described him as a “Bharatratna” (jewel of the nation). “I pray eternal peace for his departed soul,” said Pawar.

In spite of the role Pawar played in the no-confidence motion of 1999, the equation between Vajpayee and Pawar remained cordial, with Vajpayee recommending the NCP leader’s name for committees like the joint parliamentary committee set up to probe allegations of pesticide residue in soft drinks.

A close aide of Pawar’s remembers Vajpayee and Pawar meeting during that time, after the no-confidence motion of 1999 and before Pawar formed NCP. “Only both of them know what they had discussed but Pawar was considering the option of joining the NDA. Senior BJP leader, the late Pramod Mahajan, a personal friend of Pawar’s and a protégé of Vajpayee, was in touch with him [Pawar] during those days,” said the aide. Pawar’s decision to not join the NDA didn’t affect the two leaders’ friendship.

“Even when he was prime minister, Vajpayeeji made it a point to fly down to Mumbai to attend 61st birthday celebrations of Pawar saheb in 2001. He had also appointed the NCP chief as vice chairman of the National Committee on Disaster Management following Kutch earthquake,” said Nawab Malik, chief spokesperson of NCP.

prime minister and patriarch of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who headed the NDA government for a full term from 1999 to 2004, had a turbulent relationship with the Shiv Sena.

During those five years, Sena founder Bal Thackeray often threatened to pull out of the NDA, but despite differences, Vajpayee and Thackeray continued to respect one another. The animosity and bitterness seen today in the SENA-BJP alliance, was absent.

Thackeray often had a bone to pick with Vajpayee’s government. He didn’t like his ministers getting insignificant portfolios. And he didn’t agree with Vajpayee’s “softer approach” to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Vajpayee — irked by NDA allies, including Thackeray, Mamata Banerjee and J Jayalalitha — had even set down a code of conduct for the allies so that they would not seem divided. He once even offered to step down, but Thackeray opposed this, recalled a senior BJP minister.

“Balasaheb had huge respect for Vajpayeeji. Ahead of the 2004 polls and during the seeming rivalry between Vajpayee and Advani, Balasaheb had clearly endorsed and backed Vajpayee. So there was no hostility,” said a senior Sena leader.

Much of the credit goes to late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, who is seen as the architect of the alliance. A trusted lieutenant of Vajpayee and also close to Thackeray, Mahajan ironed out the differences. In 2011, a year before Thackeray, he said in an interview to Saamana, “Vajpayee was and is great.”

“Even then there was one-upmanship between the Sena and BJP. But there was also better understanding between the two leaders and hence greater coordination,’’ said a BJP leader.

The alliance was based on BJP conceding space to the Sena in Maharashtra while the former would get the bigger share in the national arena. This formula was challenged after Narendra Modi came to power. The Sena is still reeling from the loss of its position as big brother.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said of Vajpayee, “He was elected as the prime minister three times, but he carried the small parties of the National Democratic Alliance together. It was Atalji’s step to take everybody along that made NDA strong. He was miles away from arrogance or pride.” Thackeray’s statement also indicates his irritation at the current central government.

While the Sena laments the loss of Vajpayee’s BJP, the BJP mourns the loss of Bal Thackeray’s Sena.

I pray eternal peace for his [Vajpayee] departed soul. SHARAD PAWAR, on Twitter