Modi: Hurdle ahead

Chennai, Sept. 19: The pressure to remove Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister will be the first test for Lal Krishna Advani as he started today his innings as the outgoing BJP president.

As the might of a triumphant Sangh, which forced him to announce his departure as president in December, and of Atal Bihari Vajpayee combine to bring about Modi’s downfall, it would also be a test for Advani whether he would spend the next three months as a lame-duck or an effective leader.

Another wave of attack on Modi is building up with the suspension of BJP legislator Ramilaben Patel for writing to Advani about an alleged threat to her life from the chief minister.

Ramilaben reportedly demanded a probe into how her letter to Advani was leaked in the midst of the BJP national executive that Modi attended. The chief minister suspended her immediately on return from the Chennai meet last night.

The MLA is defiant. She marched straight to Keshubhai Patel, who leads the anti-Modi camp. Keshubhai, who stayed away from the Chennai meet ostensibly for health reasons, has made no secret of his displeasure with Advani for ignoring his complaints against Modi.

Although Advani is Modi’s strongest backer in the central leadership, with the party president now marking time, there is a view that the chief minister’s tenure could be curtailed.

With the Sangh now firmly set against Advani ? the hostility can only increase after the attack in his concluding statement at the national executive ? the BJP chief merely has M. Venkaiah Naidu, Pramod Mahajan, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar to shore up his defence of Modi.

Arrayed with the Sangh is, ironically, Vajpayee ? for different reasons. Vajpayee’s relations with the Sangh have not exactly been warm, but he is passionate about seeing Modi’s back.

The chief minister lost the Sangh’s support the day he came down on its farmers’ wing, the Bharatiya Kisan Sabha, for opposing his government’s decision to raise power tariff.

Besides, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) general secretary, Praveen Togadia, was reportedly incensed with him for trying to split a section of the clergy and scuttling his political ambitions.

Modi also lost the hardline Hindutva shield the day he acted against Ahmedabad MLA Gordhan Zadaphiya and allegedly threatened to pursue the riot cases against him and other dissidents.

“The Sangh saw how hollow his commitment to Hindutva was. Like many other BJP leaders, it was a political weapon and not an ideological passion,” said Sangh sources.

The Sangh noted that in concert with Advani’s secular enterprise, Modi made it a point to be feted by Khoja Muslims on his birthday on September 17 in Chennai. He got himself photographed with them.

Vajpayee’s one-point agenda since the 2002 riots has been to oust Modi. While he was unsuccessful in the past, with a weakened Advani and an emboldened Sangh, BJP sources said, he could finally have his way.

These sources added Advani could try and leverage his hold over the BJP organisation, through his handpicked general secretaries, to ensure Modi stayed undisturbed.

Sangh sources stressed that their battle was not against Advani alone. “It is not about a single individual, but about those who have sullied the party’s image with their manipulations and dirty tricks.”

The names of a vice-president and two general secretaries figure on the hit list.

While Sangh sources conceded little or nothing could be done to ensure their immediate exit, the Sangh national executive, which will take place in Chitrakoot from October 20, will send a stiff message about the need for an “ethical cleansing” of the parivar.

“Ethics are as important as ideology, if not more. If Advani disregards this message, it will be at his peril,” they said. Asked what they expected of him in concrete terms, the answer was: “Function through a process of democracy and consensus and stop relying on a small caucus for the remaining term.”