Vajpayee: Long-playing 78

T N Ninan

Many newspaper readers will have noted the unusual warmth with which Atal Bihari Vajpayee was greeted by sundry folks, on his birthday last Wednesday.

Unusual because power in India breeds sycophancy, not genuine fellow-feeling. And unusual also because by the time someone has been prime minister for close to five years, a combination of heady power and growing public disaffection create only dissonance, and general keenness to see someone else take charge as boss.

Look back at P V Narasimha Rao's image in 1995 (a remote, all-powerful Chanakya), or Rajiv Gandhi in 1988 (enmeshed in Bofors, with the initial innocence and enthusiasm long gone), or even at Indira Gandhi in 1984 (consumed by crisis, especially over Operation Bluestar) or going further back, in 1975 (with its Emergency outrage).

In contrast, Mr Vajpayee seems to be at peace with himself and evokes in many people a warm glow, for they see someone who remains both human and vulnerable, balanced and capable of humour.

It isn't the case that Mr Vajpayee has had an easy ride this past year. He seemed listless early on, heading a government that had lost its way. He ceded more power to Mr Advani in the government and in the party.

Physically unfit, mentally disengaged and getting flak on account of Godhra and its aftermath, the economic slide, and the lack of progress on international issues, Mr Vajpayee seemed ready to give up the battle.

Yet the year ends with the government and Mr Vajpayee himself in better shape than might have been expected. Less than a year ago, an informal meeting with the Editors Guild had seen aggressive questioning and a very critical mood. At another meeting with senior journalists last month, the questions were positively benign, and Mr Vajpayee's witticisms accepted with ready laughter.

The change of finance minister has certainly brought new expectations to economic policy, and got rid of the sense of ennui. It could even be argued that the time had come for Jaswant Singh's departure from South Block, since his brand of diplomacy had probably run its course and would not yield much by way of additional dividend.

Certainly, the party has been energised by its younger leadership. Even on privatisation, the Prime Minister has prevailed after a fashion.

While he was forced to sacrifice Suresh Prabhu, he has brought him right back for an ambitious project, and rewarded Arun Shourie by giving him additional charge of industry and commerce - and thereby snubbed those who had been unappreciative of both men.

The obvious negative is that he has not covered himself with glory on Gujarat, and not taken a firmer position on Suresh Prabhu and on privatisation. Sure, the essential Vajpayee comes through at some stage, as in his comments at the party's national executive meeting this past week, or while inaugurating Delhi's metro rail system (where he readily conceded that it was a shared effort with Delhi's Congress government).

But it could be argued that the job of Prime Minister demanded that he be more assertive when the chips were down and the issues seminal; if he failed by that yardstick, it could be that he is both too weak and too calculating.

Still, the record shows a man who prefers a consensual style - and this explains why he is able to disguise weakness and somehow seem to be above the battle. By prevailing through patience, he survives.

And if, while surviving, you can get Parliament to pass a record number of Bills, as it did in its latest session, then there is even achievement.

It would seem therefore that his is not at all a bad style for an Indian prime minister. Despite the concern about his failing health and lack of energy, both the government and the party show remarkable energy at this stage in the government's life.

Look at how they dominate the air waves, set the agenda, while the Congress seems acutely reactive. However defeated or isolated Mr Vajpayee may have seemed at various stages in what has been a turbulent year, the fact is that both his government and his party would have much less acceptability without Mr Vajpayee.

T N Ninan is Editor, Business Standard.

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2002: The Year That Was