NEW DELHI, 2 August 2004 — Still soul-searching after its stunning defeat in the parliamentary election in May, the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to be in the throes of a leadership crisis with party hardliners calling for “changes at the top”.
Those under fire in closed-door party conclaves include not only the “tall leaders” — a euphemism for former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani — but also the second-rung leaders like Pramod Mahajan, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.
Though the party puts up a brave face of unity publicly, many in the party privately say, even to journalists, that the search is on for a new and “widely accepted” leader who could lead the party to the next polls. These BJP members are today blaming for the rout the same people of whom the party had once boasted as their “next generation of leadership”.
Some hard-liners within the party derisively refer to the second-rung leaders as the “glamour-hunting laptop brigade” — since they are not only computer-savvy but also media-friendly, dress well and are articulate in English. They accuse them of being involved in a fierce “battle for succession”. “The three leaders do not have time for anything other than self-promotion. Leaders of a cadre-based party are supposed to dedicate their time to party affairs,” said a senior leader.
The party’s ideological mentors however say that no one from the “laptop brigade” would be considered to lead the BJP.
“It is true we have to find a face other than Vajpayee and Advani. But it will not be one from the laptop brigade,” said a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary.
According to him, the party and also the Sangh Parivar were going through a “churning process”, which was a result of “the BJP’s failure”.
“It needs a total revamp. Right now no wing of the Parivar is happy with the BJP. We must try to get it back to a shape that would be appreciated by our cadre. For that, we need a new face at the helm of affairs,” he added.
Yet, the question remains — who will be the successor?
“It could be anyone, Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi... but it cannot be Mahajan, Jaitley and Swaraj,” said a source. The RSS, according to sources, believes Advani is equally guilty of violating and ignoring the party constitution and especially its Hindutva agenda.
Modi is the blue-eyed boy of the RSS, though some of his actions like his extreme stand during the 2002 communal carnage in Gujarat had irked a section of the organization. This section believes Modi’s “mishandling of state affairs” gave the organization a bad name.
But the RSS believes that Modi can bring back the lost glory and confidence back among its cadre.
Rajnath Singh, former chief minister and a prominent upper caste Thakur leader from Uttar Pradesh, has a good clout and is an unquestionable rural leader. “He is one among the very few leaders in the BJP who is acceptable in both urban and rural areas,” said a senior BJP leader.
M.M. Joshi is perhaps the only senior leader, who has been enjoying the love and affection of the ideological parent throughout.
A Brahmin from Uttar Pradesh, he perfectly fits into the leadership mould of the Parivar ideology, say its ideologues.
Joshi’s anointment could assuage the wrath of the BJP’s committed voters, who are said to have turned against the party in the April-May general election.
Besides Joshi, 67, is much younger than Vajpayee, 79, and Advani, 77, is in sound health and is seen as a person who can provide leadership to the party for some time.
But the BJP and the RSS know that the transition will not be easy. “So, the party may wait till the Maharashtra Assembly elections are over,” said the leader. Maharashtra is likely to go for elections in September.
