When Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee assured mourners at the funeral of Mahant Ramchandra Paramhans that all "impediments" in the path of building a Ram temple would be removed, he could hardly have anticipated just how soon he would be asked to redeem his pledge.

WEDDED TO THE CAUSE: The VHP offensive has the RSS' whole-hearted backing

Vajpayee's dramatic announcement made on the banks of the Saryu was not quite a precursor to action. The mahant had been the leading figure in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and his flock had to be kept in good humour. But since the mahant's cremation on July 31, the political landscape in Uttar Pradesh has changed beyond recognition. The BJP is reeling from a bitter divorce with the BSP and after an eight-year exile, Mulayam Singh Yadav is again the chief minister. There are other developments also that have stirred the political cauldron. An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report on excavations at the disputed site at Ayodhya says there are remnants of a temple. The findings have been challenged, but the controversy has energised the VHP.

The developments have lent themselves to differing interpretations. But there is unanimity that the BJP has ended up as the net loser. Not only is the Samajwadi Party (sp) in power, the BJP's calculations for a grand alliance with the BSP for Elections 2004 have gone awry. While the BJP lurched from crisis to crisis, the RSS has been a quiet but not an inactive observer of the events. It had viewed the BJP's stuttering 16-month alliance with Mayawati with alarm. While the BJP put forward a brave face and sought to soothe its hurt by clandestinely teaming up with the sp, the RSS had its eyes on the future. The problem is easy to diagnose: if the BJP does not recover ground in Uttar Pradesh how will it present a credible challenge to Sonia Gandhi's bid for power?

The RSS knew that the BJP's options were limited. It could play the Opposition against the Mulayam Singh Government but in Uttar Pradesh's caste-ridden polity the BJP was caught between the BSP and the SP. With cracks appearing in the NDA in Bihar as well-the exit of Ram Vilas Paswan has benefited Laloo Prasad Yadav-the BJP's Lok Sabha tally of 184 simply does not look defensible. The RSS has long held the view that only a recourse to Hindutva issues can reinvigorate the BJP. The ASI report provided the trigger that the RSS had been looking for and its consultations with the VHP soon bore fruit. "The ASI report has proved those who argued against the existence of a temple at the disputed site, absolutely wrong," says RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav.

While the RSS prepared for consultations with the BJP, the VHP was already changing gears. The VHP's most visible and controversial face Pravin Togadia has been touring western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Though the meetings are part of the VHP's Sutra Sankalp programme, Togadia's message presages things to come. Speaking at Noida's Sanatan Dharma temple last week, Togadia cleverly mixed the political with the religious. "The excavations have revealed pillars of a temple. I can see them and so can you, but Sonia Gandhi and Mulayam cannot," he declaimed.

The VHP's plans will be formally revealed at the meeting of the organisation's Marg Darshak Mandal (steering committee) on September 14-16. The demand will be direct: a Central legislation that will hand over the disputed site at Ayodhya to the VHP-controlled Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas for the construction of a Ram temple. The VHP will then launch a public agitation with the focus on Uttar Pradesh. Togadia has been hinting at it, asking his audiences to "await the directions of the sants".

There are many in the BJP who are not averse to the VHP's plans. BJP Uttar Pradesh chief Vinay Katiyar says, "I was silenced all those days when Mayawati was the chief minister. Now we will take up the Ram temple issue in full earnest." The BJP central leadership is not fully convinced. While it does not see a problem in the state unit raising the pitch on the mandir issue, the party is more careful when it comes to openly backing the VHP's plans. The temple troopers in the Sangh Parivar have demanded a legislation earlier also. Now it has the RSS' backing and the latest gamble on Ayodhya takes place in the run-up to next year's general elections.

"TOGADIASPEAK"

"The ASI report demolishes the argument that the Ayodhya issue is merely a property dispute." "Sants will authorise a public agitation." "The VHP steering committee will demand a legislation for the land to be given to the Nyas." "We will force political parties to take a stand. Those who oppose us will suffer." "BJP workers will participate in the stir."

Senior BJP office-bearers said while the party's rhetoric would be strong, it would stop short of announcing its support for or participation in the VHP's planned agitation. The BJP is aware of its NDA compulsions and knows that its allies have in the past been chary of Ayodhya. Yet, BJP leaders are more than a bit tempted. They are all too aware of the fact that their options in combating caste politics in north India are limited and Ram Janmabhoomi sounds like a reassuring theme. Even in discussions involving Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and party brass, it has been felt that the temple may yield some results. "ASI report ka kafi asar ho sakta hai (This report can have big ramifications)," Vajpayee is understood to have remarked.

The BJP leadership has also been frustrated by the failure of the Kanchi Shankaracharya's negotiations with the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board. In June, there were tantalising prospects of a breakthrough but the RSS and VHP's refusal to give up claims to the Kashi and Mathura shrines in return for a deal on Ayodhya scuttled the talks. "The negotiations are at a standstill," says Kamal Farooqie of the Muslim body.

Not surprisingly, RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan's meeting with Advani on September 7 touched on the Ram temple. Sudarshan was accompanied by RSS General Secretary Mohan Bhagwat and Joint General Secretaries H.V. Seshadri and Madandas Devi. The VHP's plans were discussed and the BJP was advised to prepare a response. It is expected that the BJP, adopting a cautious posture, will first wait to see how the VHP's plans proceed. The VHP often feels that the BJP has been cynical in utilising the Ram card. Once again, the political gains of Hindutva beckon, but a partnership with the VHP always has a downside. The BJP has to decide whether the price is worth it.