Why did the people associated with the Jana Sangh component part with the Janata Party and why was the BJP formed? Senior BJP leader LK Advani has openly discussed this in his autobiography. According to Advani, after the return of the Congress in 1980 and the massive defeat of the Janata Party, the issue of dual membership became more heated. On 25 February 1980, Babu Jagjivan Ram wrote a letter to party president Chandrashekhar demanding a discussion on this issue.
In that letter, the responsibility for the defeat of the Janata Party was put on the people of the Jana Sangh, who were not ready to sever ties with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh at any cost.
Shunned like Harijans!
In a party meeting, Advani ji said, 'We were shunned in the party like Harijans (political untouchables). The Janata Party had five constituents – Congress (O), Bharatiya Lok Dal, Socialist Party, C.F.D. and Jana Sangh. From the political point of view, earlier there were four Dwijs in it, whereas the status of Jana Sangh was that of 'Harijan'. There was jubilation while accepting it (Jana Sangh) in 1977 but with the passage of time the presence of 'Harijan' in the family started creating problems.
The family members (many people belonging to other constituents) severed ties with the family (Janta Party) because of the presence of 'Harijan' in the family. Although he had no complaint against the 'Harijan boy'. In fact they often praised him but could not forget his caste. His parents (Sangh) were his only obstacle.
There was a feeling of decision on the question of dual membership
On April 4, 1980, a decisive decision was to be taken on the question of dual membership in the National Executive meeting of the Janata Party. The Jansangh constituent had a premonition of the decision and its leaders had decided to hold the national convention in Delhi the very next day. In the two months before this, Sundar Singh Bhandari and Lal Krishna Advani had visited all parts of the country and tried to understand the mind of their workers.
The common complaint of the workers was that they were being treated in a second-class manner in the Janata Party. In the April 4 meeting of the Janata Party, the proposal of Morarji Bhai and Chandrashekhar etc. to try for a compromise was rejected by 17 votes against 14 and the proposal to expel the members of the Jana Sangh from the Janata Party was passed. Interestingly, the very next day Babu Jagjivan Ram also left the Janata Party and Y. B. Joined the Chavan-led Congress (U).
name and mark both new
On April 5 and 6, the question in the minds of more than three and a half thousand delegates present at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in Delhi was whether the Jana Sangh would be revived? In the presidential speech, Atal Bihari Vajpayee denied this, 'We will take advantage of our experiences of Janata Party. We are proud of our relationship with him. We would not like to be separated from our past in any way. While building our new party, we look towards the future, not backward. We will move forward on the basis of our core ideology and principles.
Some people suggested giving the party the old name Bharatiya Jana Sangh, but the name 'Bharatiya Janata Party' proposed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee got widespread support. The same situation happened with the old election symbol 'Diya' and the new symbol 'Lotus' was chosen. In this session, along with Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, the picture of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan was also given a place on the stage.
Gandhian Socialism: Will make BJP a photo copy of Congress
Party leaders had an association with Jayaprakash Narayan during the Bihar movement. It deepened in the following years. The reason for the deepening of these relations was that both the parties had changed their opinion towards each other. It developed a relationship of mutual trust and harmony.
In the period 1974-80, many other people who did not have Sangh background were attracted towards the party. New name, new symbol and the thought of keeping all such people connected behind the demonstration of commitment to Gandhian socialism with the guiding principle of the party, Integral Humanism. Jansangh was basically a cadre based organization. It was decided to move ahead with the goal that the structure of BJP should be mass-based. However, many leaders of the party did not agree with the resolve to establish Gandhian socialism.
Rajmata Vijay Raje Scindia even expressed her disagreement through a written note in the executive meeting. With this, he expressed the apprehension of the party becoming a photo copy of the Congress. He withdrew his note after a long discussion and an emphasis on the "Indian element" in the party's economic philosophy.
It is a different matter that after the humiliating defeat of the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had started returning to its roots.
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