Advani's candid admission came during a visit to Neemach (Madhya Pradesh) where he unveiled a statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel at the CRPF complex.

Advani laughed away reports suggesting a rift between him and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The induction of Jaswant Singh and Pramod Mahajan in the Cabinet against the wishes of the Sangh Parivar -- but not Sushma Swaraj, an Advani loyalist -- has once again fuelled speculations of the imminent breakdown of relationship between the BJP's two top leaders. ``The reports are absolutely incorrect,'' said Advani. ``Vajpayee's position is unique in the party. I have always considered him my senior andcurrently he is the best Prime Minister we could have. Whatever important decisions we took, we took them jointly. The only time I didn't agree with him was when I went on the Rath Yatra.''

Political observers say Advani is keen on shedding his hardliner image in the fast changing scenario to hop on to the driving seat. Anyway, he is throwing enough hints. For instance, he explained today that Indians as a matter of tradition never accepted aggressiveness. ``That was one reason why Mahatma Gandhi is accepted widely, but Veer Sawarkar is not. Sawarkar, despite a number of sacrifices, and his contribution to the country is equally great, did not have the non-aggressive image of Gandhi...furthermore, it was on Gandhi's insistence that Nehru had inducted Shyama Prasad Mookherjee in the Government.''

However, when asked if he would like to change his image that points at ideological rigidity, whether rightly or wrongly, Advani shot back: ``Why should I?''

Advani said that the Government's failure tocommunicate has resulted in further distancing itself from the party. A case in point, he said, is the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Bill. Advani said: ``While in the opposition, we had opposed to foreign investment in the insurance sector. But now the situation is not the same because we wish to stress on the significance of economic liberalisation. Obviously the Govt failed to communicate the changed tactics effectively.''

Hitting out obliquely at the Congress and the parties from the Third Force, Advani maintained that the BJP alone was a special party. ``This is because it does not depend on caste factors. Nor on any dynasty. Nor is the BJP a leadership-oriented party. It is known more for its organisational, and ideological, strengths than for some individuals,'' he said. In the same breath, he said that the recent polls could not be seen merely as the BJP's debacle. According to him, it is a realignment of forces, the process that he calls ``crystallisation of bipolar polity'' in which theCongress has already begun work by squeezing out the smaller game players. On the Christians' nationwide protest against alleged violence perpetrated on them, Advani was sympathetic -- though only to a point. ``The Jhabua incident,'' he said, ``shook everybody's conscience and was deplored by all right thinking people. The inquiry later revealed that out of 24 accused, half were Christians. The lesson is clear; the attempts to communalise the events should be discouraged.''

Violence in Kerala

Stray violence marred parts of Karnataka and Kerala as security personnel staged a flag march in Pondicherry and arrested 2,000 protesters across the country on the sixth anniversary of demolition of the Babri Masjid today.Demonstrations, hoisting of black flags and meetings were witnessed during the day when Trinamool Congress organised Black Day The event passed off peacefully in Uttar Pradesh.