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August 25, 2009 - Goanet's 15th Anniversary
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BJP begins hunt for a new leader
Poornima Joshi
New Delhi, August 30, 2009
The RSS leadership has prescribed a long list of medicines to stop the
cancer of dissent within the BJP from reaching a stage of terminal
decline.
The therapy starts from the top, with the Sangh advising Leader of
Opposition L.K. Advani on Saturday to assume the role of mentor to the
party and choose his successor in the parliamentary party without any
delay.
The Sangh also retained the exclusive right to appoint the next BJP
president after Rajnath Singh demits office in December.
The likelihood of the four top contenders - Sushma Swaraj, Arun
Jaitley, M. Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar - being picked for the job
seemed to be remote, for the RSS was said to be betting on a dark
horse.
The Sangh was mulling over several choices for the BJP president's
post. And the new possibilities that came to light ranged from
bringing veteran Kalraj Mishra from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi to relying
on Nitin Gadkari's experience in Maharashtra for revitalising the
party. Former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, though, seemed to
be the strongest contender for the post.
Parrikar, 54, was said to be the most eligible for the job not just
because he signifies a generational change in the BJP but also because
he presents the contemporary face of Hindutva.
The IIT-Bombay graduate had led the party to power in Goa and scores
very high on personal integrity.
"The RSS wants an organisation man to take over the BJP," sources
said. "As far as possible, they do not want to destabilise the chief
ministers. The most suitable choice is Parrikar. Here is an
organisation man with a modern image who's qualified, articulate and
committed to the ideology. And yet, Parrikar has never figured in any
controversy, nor is he part of any faction."
Parrikar's name, along with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh
and his counterpart in Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was
being widely discussed in Sangh circles. But another line of thinking
was that as far as possible, the RSS should avoid disturbing chief
ministers.
This theory not only cast a shadow of doubt over the prospects of
Raman Singh and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but also partly negated the
prospect of Narendra Modi taking over the organisation.
Though the RSS was clear about assuming the responsibility of choosing
the next BJP president, Advani was still being shown the courtesy of
naming his successor. The diktat from the Sangh was clear: Advani has
to make way for his successor as soon as possible. Also clear was the
fact that the veteran leader would be shown due respect.
"The Sangh wants Advani ji to assume the role of a mentor and guide
the party," sources said.
"That cannot happen while he is still presiding over in the
parliamentary party as that makes him a stakeholder. He could be the
chairman of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or head the BJP
parliamentary board. But in the Lok Sabha, a new leader of opposition
is to be picked very soon. We do not want any more ugly incidents. The
transition must be smooth."
Swaraj is the obvious choice as leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha
as her appointment as deputy leader of opposition too had the
blessings of the Sangh.
At the same time, Naidu's hopes of capturing the office of leader of
opposition in the Rajya Sabha are expected to be dashed because
Jaitley will continue to occupy it.
Advani was expected to step down at the earliest, but Rajnath Singh
would be allowed to complete his term as BJP president.
Singh's term comes to an end around December this year. Before that,
the name of the new president is expected to be announced.
These decisions are a result of the several rounds of negotiations the
RSS top brass - notably Mohan Bhagwat, Suresh Joshi, Suresh Soni and
Madan Das Debi - have had with BJP leaders in the last couple of days.
Bhagwat was closeted in a meeting with Advani for almost three hours
on Saturday afternoon. Before this meeting with Advani, the RSS chief
went to the senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi's residence.
The two veterans had lunch together and Joshi is believed to have been
told in no uncertain terms that the negotiations now under way were
not aimed at accommodating him. Though Joshi is close to the RSS, the
Sangh is too preoccupied with the task of restructuring the BJP to
bother about rehabilitating the veterans. Last heard, Joshi had gone
to the Sangh office in Delhi for another round of meetings with the
RSS top brass.
"Whoever heads the organisation carries the party along. That has been
the strength of Advani," a senior BJP leader said. "The talk that the
new president may be chosen from outside this charmed circle is
certainly a blow. It is also not good news for Advani whose efforts to
anoint either Venkaiah Naidu or Ananth Kumar are clearly not bearing
fruit." The RSS, though, is in no mood for anything more than the bare
niceties. And it's clearly showing the party who's the boss.
Courtesy: Mail Today
