Mohan Bhagwat

New Delhi, Aug. 27: The BJP leadership’s reluctance to act against Arun Shourie is being seen as a manifestation of the turf war raging within the larger Sangh parivar.

Many leaders fear this tussle will throw up uglier episodes of internal bickering.

The broad assessment of a large number of leaders is that the current crisis will go a long way in shaping the party’s future politics.

“This may be viewed as a larger battle between two cultures; one that wants to dilute the ideological position and intends to turn the BJP into another Congress, and the other that seeks salvation through strengthening the ideology,” a senior leader told The Telegraph. “In other words, between television poster boys and ideologically grounded leaders.”

In fact, Shourie’s case — coming close on the heels of the abrupt expulsion of Jaswant Singh — is a curious example of the leadership’s double standard.

Shourie has so far not shown any sense of remorse. On the contrary, he has scaled up his attack on L.K. Advani and Arun Jaitley by using derogatory metaphors like dead horses. But the party has not acted against him, exposing the vertical split among top leaders who are busy weighing the damages caused to individuals rather than the party’s image.

While one section feels BJP chief Rajnath Singh is not worried about the crumbling edifice because he is itching to dance on the political graves of a few rival leaders, another section argues the fight is against those who are bent on destroying the party’s unique identity.

Those not attached to different factions are praying for normality to return soon as the party, they fear, may not survive if the strife carries on for long.

What has been worrying many party members more than these unending controversies is the perception that there is no unity of purpose among senior leaders who are supposed to restore normality.

These members now look up to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat to set the house in order and that’s why his news conference tomorrow is being awaited with great interest.

The RSS had withdrawn its representative Suresh Soni from the Shimla chintan baithak earlier this month but now some BJP leaders expect Bhagwat to make a more definitive intervention.

But Sangh sources say Bhagwat’s news conference is part of an old schedule in which he spends three days at a place, sparing a day each for swayamsevaks, intellectuals and the media. Similar programmes have already been held in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir.

The BJP leaders, however, point out that Bhagwat’s regular interaction with the media is linked to the RSS desire to mount pressure on the party leadership which is resisting change despite total disarray.