In a clear signal of the increasing, hands-on role of the Sangh Parivar in the affairs of the BJP, VHP president Ashok Singhal managed to effect a compromise between the Uttar Pradesh unit of the party and rebel MP Yogi Adityanath at Gorakhpur today.

The negotiations with Adityanath, who had threatened to put up his own candidates under the Hindu Mahasabha banner against the BJP in a large number of seats in eastern UP, were carried out by BJP’s general secretary (Organisation) Ram Lal, an RSS pracharak who took over the key portfolio after the ouster of Sanjay Joshi.

Adityanath, who had initially demanded 32 seats for his own men, has now settled for 15 seats. But the BJP too had to compromise. It has now changed its official candidates in three seats—Sahajanwa, Mehdawal and Nimbuanarangi—and replaced them with Adityanath’s nominees.

The rift between the state BJP and Adityanath, whose aggressive Hindutva politics led to communal polarisation in the Gorakhpur-Azamgarh-Varanasi belt, was viewed with concern by Sangh leaders who feared a division of the Hindu vote in the Assembly polls.

In view of this concern, top BJP leaders tried to work out a compromise. L K Advani tried to play peace-maker but failed. The BJP’s UP unit felt that Advani had promised too much to Adityanath without being aware of the nitty-gritty of the “ground reality.”

After complete breakdown of talks, Adityanath announced that he would put up his own candidates in a large number of seats. Although BJP spokesmen in Delhi tried to underplay his threat potential, party leaders admitted that the “rebel factor” would harm them in at least a dozen seats.

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