Advani, Patnaik

New Delhi, Dec. 20: The fear of losing key ally Biju Janata Dal before the general election has prompted L.K. Advani to persuade the Sangh parivar to call off an Orissa bandh during Christmas.

Parivar outfits had planned to paralyse the state on December 25 to send out a message that Orissa would not be allowed to celebrate Christmas in retaliation to Swamy Laxmananand Saraswati’s murder in August.

The killing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) monk had set off attacks on Christians in Orissa, accused of the murder and of forced conversions, bringing condemnation from world leaders and the Pope.

Even after the violence ebbed, the parivar had kept up its anti-Christian tirade, putting BJD chief minister Naveen Patnaik under intense pressure. Feedback that a BJD lobby was in favour of reviewing the party’s alliance options caused Advani to swing into action.

Advani dispatched his trusted aide, journalist Chandan Mitra, to meet Naveen and the parivar outfits. Sources said Patnaik was requested not to take a confrontational path, and told that Advani would do his best to manage the conflicts in the alliance.

Mitra also held behind-the-scenes talks with parivar leaders, facilitating a meeting between them and Naveen following which the bandh was called off yesterday.

The BJP’s central leadership had felt that the date chosen for the bandh reflected deliberate mischief and a desire to stoke a confrontation, party sources said.

That Mitra was picked to negotiate with Naveen instead of a regular BJP politician shows how impatient the BJD leadership had grown under the intense parivar pressure, a source said.

“An outsider is of great help when passions are running high between the two parties,” a BJP leader explained.

The BJP’s general secretary in charge of Orissa is Vinay Katiyar, a hard-liner with his roots in the Bajrang Dal — hardly the ideal choice to resolve the alliance crisis.

Orissa BJP leaders too have strong ties with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is not ready to compromise on conversions at all.

The state BJP’s deep antipathy towards the church is reflected in a three-part article in Sangh mouthpiece Organiser last month by Balbir Punj, a BJP Rajya Sabha member from Orissa.

The BJP is convinced that Patnaik will not risk destabilising the alliance. “He has not given any signal so far about any plan to move out. We are sure we will continue to be partners,” Katiyar told The Telegraph today.

The BJP believes that Naveen may think of walking out only if the NDA fails to grab power in the next election.

Christians in Orissa have thanked Naveen for ensuring the withdrawal of the bandh call.

“We are thankful to the chief minister and hope we will be able to celebrate Christmas with joy and peace,” Rapharel Cheenath, archbishop of the Cuttack Bhubaneswar Diocese, who led a team that met Naveen today, said in Bhubaneswar.