Sushma: Painful thought

New Delhi, May 17: A powerful BJP lobby plans to resist any shake-up in the organisation, and is peddling the line that the Congress had gained at the expense of the third front, not the BJP.

This group wants L.K. Advani to continue as leader of the Opposition to prevent a new leader, such as Sushma Swaraj, from occupying the top post.

Some others, such as Advani’s arch rival Murli Manohar Joshi, have justified Advani’s reported decision to step down.

“Advaniji takes decisions after due consideration. He is setting a good example,” said Joshi, who is believed to be in touch with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leadership, which wants drastic changes in the party hierarchy.

The no-changers claim it is unthinkable not to have Advani as the leader as long as he is active, and that the party must not panic. Privately, they admit that Advani’s exit would trigger a war of succession among the second-rung leaders.

Joshi: Humble but ready

Party chief ministers are to meet here tomorrow, and a move is afoot to adopt resolution asking Advani to stay on in his Lok Sabha post.

Advani’s close aides say he is reluctant to be sucked into this power struggle and seriously plans to step aside. “We are (trying) to convince him but he has stood firm. It is highly unlikely that he will change his stand,” Balbir Punj said.

Another aide said: “Advaniji is not in the mood to drag on like this. He has achieved everything in life.”

Joshi, however, took care to link Advani’s decision to the dismal performance: “As the party did not come to power, he wants to take responsibility (for the defeat) and step down.…”

He added: “I am not in any race. But if I am given any responsibility by the party, I do not shy away. I am a humble BJP worker and will do as my party bids.”

The response of Sushma, the other contender, was subdued. She said: “It is a painful thought to replace Advani while he is around. There is no such proposal and I have not given consent to any such idea.”

Sushma’s rise will dismay the likes of Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi since she would grab the opportunity to position herself as Advani’s successor. She has charisma, speaks well and enjoys huge support in the organisation.

Her opponents have been weakened by the election defeat and therefore want Advani to continue till the post-poll depression dies away. Sources, however, say the Sangh wants an overhaul right away.

The pro-changers have questioned the campaign strategy, formulated by Jaitley, and dismissed the theory that the results were more a reflection on the third front than a rejection of the BJP.

They have two questions. One, why had the party’s election managers failed to foresee such a gain for the Congress? And two, why had the BJP got less seats than expected in states where the third front was not a factor, such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Haryana and Punjab?

Some of these leaders believe that Varun Gandhi’s alleged hate speech led to the unexpected Muslim consolidation behind the Congress. Ironically, these same leaders want a larger role for Modi at the national level.

Modi campaigned at some 200 rallies outside Gujarat, but it helped BJP candidates in less than 20 seats. The defeat has triggered a debate in the party about Modi’s viability outside a completely polarised Gujarat.

Advani’s closest aide Sudheendra Kulkarni today wrote that the former BJP chief had not shown enough of a winner’s instinct and had failed to take the ruthless decisions required. He was referring to organisational matters, not to Advani’s indecision after the 2002 riots and Varun’s speech.

Kulkarni used to run Advani’s portal, which has now been cleaned out except for press releases and Advani’s media interactions.