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Thursday, April 16, 1998

	Little big man Kushabhau thakre admits that he understands his limitations. He has excellent reasons for proceeding with caution. Already, he suffers comparison with L.K. Advani, his immediate predecessor, and is inevitably seen as the lesser man. After all the public, outside of Madhya Pradesh, was quite unaware of his existence until his election.		Realism at last The CPI(M) Politburo has done it again. It was not long ago that it did not approve of Jyoti Basu's comment about the party committing a "historic blunder". It has now dealt with similar sternness with general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet and articulate apparatchik Sitaram Yechury, besides Basu, in relation to a related subject.
	The snake it was that died It is said that if a dog bites a man, it isn't exactly news. But if a man bites a dog, it ought to make the front page. Not long ago, it was reported in a national daily that a snake had bitten a man. That fact alone, of course, could not have made news. It would have been information of the same useless order as that of a dog biting a man.		Too dear at the price The foreign policy section of the BJP manifesto shows that the BJP desires to vigorously campaign for a permanent seat for India on the Security Council, while the agenda for national governance only talks about ensuring an appropriate position in the international community based on India's size, demography, resources and geopolitical position. The specificity of claiming a permanent seat stands diluted in the agenda for governance.

Power demands its own methods
Almost a month in office and the BJP is still betraying, at every step, an embarrassing unfamiliarity with the levers of power. The transition from the methods of the past to those appropriate to its present role as leader of the ruling coalition appears to be a painful one. The party -- now the government -- continues to repose its faith in the strategies it used to enhance its image among the electorate.

Waking up to a reality
With the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government vowing to form the Vananchal State comprising 18 districts of south Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal government and politicians in this region have begun to repackage themselves. Though all political parties in the region will have to wake up to the changed reality, it is the JM which faces an immediate crisis and a question mark on its future.