New Delhi, Mar 19: It was a swearing-in with a difference. The sprawling forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan where the ceremony took place had turned into a jamboree with enthusiastic supporters of BJP and allies present in strength, apart, of course, from Delhi's who's who.From the cloistered and ornate Ashoka Hall to the open compound it was something new. An estimated 2000 invitees and guests descended on the venue as compared to a normal complement of about 300. But, perhaps, the occasion demanded it.
The day, undoubtedly, belonged to Atal Behari Vajpayee who got a standing ovation from the crowd from the moment he arrived. There were intermittent clappings of welcome followed by warm handshakes and ingratiating "namaste" from the front benches who included former presidents Shanker Dayal Sharma, R Venkataraman, former prime ministers VP Singh, PV Narasimha Rao, Chandrashekhar and other dignitaries.
Seated in the front row in the company was Congress president Sonia Gandhi who made it a point towarmly acknowledge "namaste" from one and all in contrast to her withdrawn posture until recently. Has the party office she holds now transformed her? So it seemed.
BJP president LK Advani could hardly hide his glee of triumph. From a mere two-member party in 1989 to a massive 170 , he had reasons to feel triumphant. He was all smiles while meeting party colleagues, political foes and dignitaries. AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha appeared to be the cynosure of all eyes in the front benches. She just emerged victorious in the see-saw game of politics with big brother BJP, after all. Between the AIADMK and the allies , she wrested some half a dozen ministers, the largest chunk after the BJP.
AIADMK ministers drew large cheers from supporters with a Tamil slogan "long live the party leader" only to be matched by the Akali contingent who shouted "jo bole so nihaal, sat shri Akaal" each time its minister was sworn in. In comparison, the saffron ranks were hardly noisy despite the largest cake tothem. Only when Uma Bharti was sworn in did an acolyte shout "Jai Shri Ram".
More saffron than the saffronites was, perhaps, Sardar Buta Singh whose glowing saffron turban few failed to notice. And why not? Buta Singh, after all, has been inducted as a cabinet minister in the Vajpayee cabinet.
If Buta Singh joins the rank, can Maneka Gandhi be far behind? Resplendent in a silk saari with saffron tinge was Maneka seated in the ministerial row. Just after she finished taking oath of office and secrecy, someone passed a rather left-handed comment. "Can't she not exchange pleasantries with her (estranged) sister-in-law Sonia?", it was heard in the crowd.
What lent a measure of poignancy to the solemn occasion was absence of senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh from the front benches. "How is his name missing? All papers this morning had headlined Jaswant Singh as the finance minister. Did something go wrong?" These were the oft-repeated queries by many in the gathering.
The guessing game continued asVajpayee rubbed shoulders with the crowd amid watchful eyes of the SPG guards. In contrast, Inder Kumar Gujral and wife Sheila Gujral freely walked across without much interruptions from the crowd. "Everybody has his day", remarked a wag.
At the South Block office (PMO), Vajpayee was greeted by senior officials, including the outgoing principal secretary NN Vohra, principal information officer (PIO), S Narendra and others. New principal secretary Brijesh Mishra was already there at the PMO gate to welcome him to the country's most powerful office.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
