Subas Chouhan (Co-convenor)

The fire-spewing Chouhan is a former head of the Orissa unit of the Dal. A pracharak of the RSS, Chouhan has been at the forefront of attacks on Christians, justifying them as a reaction to the murder of VHP leader Swami Lakshmanananda and asking Christians to convert back to Hinduism if they want to escape violence.

MOVING INTO THE PARIVAR

Vinay Katiyar

The RSS picked Katiyar as the Bajrang Dal’s founder president. He had been tried earlier as the ABVP organisational secretary for four years, from 1970 to 1974. Katiyar led the Dal during the most crucial phase, the Ayodhya movement. He was rewarded for his services with a BJP ticket from the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency in 1991. He doubled as BJP Lok Sabha member and Dal convenor till 1995.

Jaibhan Singh Pavaiyya

As Katiyar moved on to shoulder big responsibilities like the presidency of the UP BJP, he was replaced by Jaibhan Singh Pavaiyya, who had been VHP national secretary for 10 years (1983-1993). By the time Pavaiyya took over, the temple movement had lost steam. The BJP, looking for allies after having failed to get a majority in the Lok Sabha in 1996, sobered down. Looking for an alternative cause, the RSS strike force soon found one: M.F. Husain's paintings. In 1996, the Dal gave a call to the youth to join the Amarnath Yatra, which had been reduced to a trickle the previous year. It got the people but Pavaiyya was pulled out of office in 1997. However, he was soon resurrected. The BJP fielded him from the Gwalior Lok Sabha constituency in 1999 and he won.

... contd.