Vajpayee was 'right man in right party', says author of new biography

Atal Bihari Vajpayee has often been called the ‘right man in the wrong party’, but it was not the case, and he was the ”right man in the right party”, author of a new biography of the former prime minister said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the launch of his book ”Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right 1924-1977”, Abhishek Choudhary said Vajpayee always came forward to defend the Sangh parivar whenever they were in need, and was one of those who stood by the RSS even after its ban following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. ”There was a time when there was a succession struggle inside the BJP. Mr Modi was made the prime ministerial candidate, Mr. Advani was sidelined, there was a lot of nostalgia, not among the Sangh parivar but among the liberals about what Vajpayee would have done,” Choudhary said after launching the book along with BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta, and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. He said the common impression of Vajpayee is very different from the man he was. ”Every time RSS was in trouble, every time RSS was banned, he always came to defend the Sangh parivar when they needed him the most,” he said.

BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta agreed, and said the former prime minister was ”conservative” and ”traditionalist”, not a ”liberal”. Dasgupta said Indian Right means Vajpayee, and it was Congress’ ”turn towards the Left” that created space for him and other right wing leaders in Indian politics.

”When you talk about so-called Indian Right… it means Vajpayee,” Dasgupta said. ”I don’t see Vajpayee as a liberal, I think Vajpayee was a conservative, he was a traditionalist. Just because Vajpayee was often ambivalent about what he believed in, they thought he did not have any strong convictions,” he said. Dasgupta said there was a ”remaking” of Vajpayee after he became the prime minister, adding that the new biography restores him ”to the Hindu side”. He also said that the RSS, which had stayed away from politics during the time of MS Golwalkar, saw the need of having a political arm after the ban that came in 1948, and the Congress started ”throwing out” conservatives. ”From the late 1960s when Congress turned left under the influence of communist party, people like Vajpayee became more and more relevant,” he said. Tharoor, meanwhile, said in his younger years, Vajpayee represented the ”worst of Hindu majoritarianism”. ”In terms of why Vajpayee appeals to so many people is because of the manner in which he conducted his prime ministership for six years, and because of the contrast in which the successive BJP government has behaved,” said Tharoor. He also said Vajpayee had to temper some of his beliefs to maintain the coalition his government was in.