Vajpayee, Advani

Lucknow, Dec. 21: Vajpayee’s there, in all sizes, so are Lalji Tandon and Rajnath Singh, looking much bigger than they’ve ever been. In the pantheon of BJP stalwarts staring down from street-corner posters and billboards, there are no prizes for guessing who’s missing. L.K. Advani is struggling to find a place in Vajpayee town.

And this isn’t just another time. The BJP’s national executive and national council meeting starts on Friday. And, the former deputy Prime Minister, once more than a first among equals, isn’t even seen playing second fiddle.

At the party office, Vajpayee, Tandon and Rajnath overshadow Advani, who appears in nothing more than a small photo. Near Halwasya market, there is a poster which screams Chappa Chappa BJP (BJP all around). On the other side of the hoarding is a huge picture of Vajpayee shaking hands with confidant Tandon, the leader of the Opposition in election-bound Uttar Pradesh.

Leaders arriving in the city for the meeting are talking about the poster cold-shoulder in hushed tones. “Surprised?” one asked. “Not quite, I am not,” retorted another.

“Advani’s image among workers seems to have gone for a toss. This may be due to controversies that have refused to leave him. First it was over Jinnah and now, it’s over the issue of becoming Prime Minister,” said a BJP general secretary in Uttar Pradesh.

The remarks that Jinnah was secular came during Advani’s visit to Pakistan in July 2005. The furore that followed led to his exit as party president a little later. The RSS squirmed at the Jinnah rediscovery and was believed to have persuaded him to relinquish the party top job.

The rows haven’t ended. In recent weeks, Advani declared on prime time television that he would be the party’s prime ministerial candidate.

He went on to say he didn’t expect Vajpayee to “return the favour”. He was referring to the time when he proposed Vajpayee’s name as the party’s man for Prime Minister.

Leaders have begun to see signs of the cold war between the two erupting once again.