In a few months, there will be a BJP CM in Lucknow : Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh is a man of clean image. Born on July 10, 1951 in a village in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh, he largely keeps a low profile and wants his work to speak rather than words. When he gets the mike, he is a fine orator besides being a grass root organizer, effective administrator and dexterous political manager. It is unfortunate that he got at helm when BJP was going through most turbulent times but those who know him feel that he still has the talent and caliber to revive the party in the country and more importantly in his own native state. In the interview here, Singh speaks about the party, his role and the future. Excerpts:
Q. What is the reason for you keeping a low profile?
A. Work has to happen. Earlier too the leaders of the party were doing work. Now too work is happening. If work is happening, results will come. If results are positive, it doesn't matter whether you are keeping a low or high profile.
Q. It is said party have no netas who could be crowd-pullers, post-Vajpayee. Even now, Atal Bihari Vajpayee is called wherever crucial elections are happening…
A. No, this isn't true. Just take the case of UP. There is Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar, Lalji Tandon. All have worked extensively hard and laboured to bring BJP to where it is. As far as I am concerned, I have merely carried the work further done by our leaders.
Q. Has the BJP become too big to remain a cohesive unit? Is it not a bunch of fragmented leaders and their followers? Take the case of Gujarat where Modi is working on his own terms, then there are problems in MP and Rajasthan.
A. No, all of them are working for the party. We are gearing up for the forthcoming elections. As elections draw nearer, we will all unite our forces and take the help of Sangh too when necessary.
Q. Can elections not be won by BJP without the help of Sangh?
A. Sangh karyakartas are devoted and united. BJP's ideology is very close to that of Sangh. Therefore it is prerequisite that they support us or we go to them for support at times of elections.
Q. How do you rate the position of BJP in UP now?
A. Results of mayor elections have shown that we are going to come to power. In a few months from now, there will be a BJP CM in Lucknow.
Q. Why is it that you have not been able to integrate a particular community into your fold?
A. No doubt, the community you are talking about is backward. But what we say is that for 45 years, it was Congress that has ruled over the country. Why couldn't their financial position change in 45 years? If anybody is responsible for it, it is the Congress party. Congress party should give a statement in Parliament what were the circumstances that in spite of their being in power for such a long period, they couldn't formulate plans to bring the minority back into mainstream.
Q. Don't you agree that the Congress party's acceptability is increasing once again?
A. No, this is not true. BJP has won most of the by-elections held recently. In the UP elections, a great percentage of mayors and parshads have been from BJP. How can you say that Congress's position is improving?
Q. Manmohan Singh said recently that since Atal Ji and Advani Ji keep fighting amidst themselves, there is no future for BJP?
A. It doesn't suits a PM of a country to utter a statement like this regarding the senior leaders of main opposition parties. Infighting is not a problem for us, compared to the size of our party. This problem is most rampant with others, most of them have seen divisions and separations in the past. BJP is the only party where this has not happened till now.
Q. But there are cases of Madan lal Khurana, Uma Bharati and others who are disenchanted.
A. If any person leaves BJP, it is that individual's loss and not the loss of the party.
Q. Is it not true that several of NDA partners too are looking at deserting you?
A. No, all NDA parties are together. Once the elections draw near, we will sit and decide whether more people are to be added to NDA. Other than this, all political parties have their own agendas. We had decided on Common Minimum Programme and we will continue to carry out our agenda outside of NDA.