Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=12/16/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=297494

TITLE= INDIA / GUJARAT REACT / L-O

BYLINE=ANJANA PASRICHA

DATELINE=NEW DELHI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: In India, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has elected Narendra

Modi as its leader in Gujarat, where the party has won a huge victory in last week's state elections (126 of 182 seats). As Anjana Pasricha reports, political analysts say the B-J-P's decisive win in Gujarat will strengthen the hands of Hindu nationalists in the party.

TEXT: Virtually all political analysts and newspapers gave the credit for the B-J-P's

huge victory in Gujarat to caretaker Chief Minister Narendra Modi. They say the

politics of hardline Hindu nationalism he adopted has paid rich electoral dividends.

Mr. Modi had campaigned on a right-wing Hindu platform -- saying he was the only person who could protect the state's people from Islamic Pakistan and radical Muslim militants.

His critics accused him of playing heavily on Hindu fears and anger towards the

Muslim minority that followed the killing of 58 Hindu activists, earlier this year, in a train fire allegedly started by a Muslim mob. The incident sparked bloody riots in which nearly one thousand people were killed.

Political analysts say the Gujarat verdict will strengthen the hands of B-J-P's right-wing

allies and hardliners in the party.

The success in the prosperous western region reversed a sting of electoral losses the

party had faced, earlier in the year.

Independent political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan says the B-J-P will now be under

pressure to adopt "Hindutva"-- a term literally meaning the Hindu way of life, but now

being used to describe a Hindu fundamentalist ideology.

/ / / RANGARAJAN ACTUALITY / / /

There will be much more pressure on the Bharatiya Janata party nationally to pay more

attention to its core ideological agenda. This victory in Gujarat -- unprecedented in scale -- will be interpreted by many party strategists as an endorsement of the ideology of

Hindutva. And, in the forthcoming assembly elections -- there are five in the

Hindi-speaking belt nest year -- there will be a growing chorus of voices calling for

similar sorts of campaigns in these states. There is a major choice, and those who are

in favor of that have won a victory.

/ / / END ACTUALITY / / /

But most newspapers say a strategy of Hindu nationalism is unlikely to help the B-J-P

rebuild its political fortunes outside Gujarat. The "Hindustan Times" newspaper says

B-J-P's right-wing allies may conclude that the way ahead is -- in its words -- "to polarize the electorate and trample on India's secular traditions." But it warns such tactics would not work in other areas.

Meanwhile, senior B-J-P leaders played down such fears, saying future elections will be

fought on "development issues." In Gujarat, Mr. Modi also spoke the language of

conciliation, saying he will work for all people in the state.

All agreed Mr. Modi has emerged as an important leader in the B-J-P, representing

a younger leadership that will play a key role in setting the party's future agenda. (signed)

NEB / AP / WD