Finally it happened, the exit of Lal Krishan Advani as the Leader of the Opposition which the RSS had been seeking. But that does not mean that Advani is about to walk into the sunset. The RSS, BJP and L K Advani have gone in for a deftly constituted package deal. And because it is based on the principle of power sharing, it may well stick.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had his way in the selection of Nitin Gadkari as BJP chief and Advani went along with it. Advani has tried to make out that Gadkari was his choice. Gadkari too said that it was Advani who had approached him to take over the mantle of the BJP, and made the point that he had the support of the Advani group.
On the other hand, Advani had his way in framing the BJP’s parliamentary arrangement. Sushma Swaraj is the new Leader of the Opposition in place of Advani and Arun Jaitley continues as the LOP in the Rajya Sabha. The Sangh leadership has accepted it. This includes the appointment of Advani as the chairman of the BJP’s Parliamentary Party, a new post specially created for him, by amending the party constitution. Though it made several senior BJP leaders, opposed to Advani, unhappy, they went along with it because the Sangh did not oppose it.
The RSS, which was not very enthusiastic about Advani becoming chairperson of the BJPPP, may have calculated that it would make him accountable for ensuring a smooth transition in the party — not unlike US President making Hillary Clinton Secretary of State to ensure her support. Otherwise, the Gen-next leaders, many of whom are Advani’s protégés could make the going rough for Gadkari.
Going in for a new position for Advani, the BJP took a leaf out of the Congress book. The Congress had also effected a change in the constitution of the Congress Parliamentary Party to accommodate Sonia Gandhi as the chairperson of the CPP, in 1998, even before she had become an MP. After that she continued in that capacity, growing more powerful with every successive election in 1999, 2004 and in 2009.
There is, however, a qualitative difference between Sonia and Advani. Sonia is the power behind the throne. Advani is being seen as a “mentor”.
Yet, it is not as if Advani is about to retire. As the chairman of the BJPPP, he has been empowered to nominate the LOPs in both houses, and because he is the appointing authority, he can also remove them. Though he is not likely to involve himself in the nitty-gritty of decision-making, he has ensured that he cannot be ignored when it comes to framing policy, strategy and key appointments either in the parliamentary party or for that matter in the party.
For Arun Jaitley, Advani’s presence would help bring more parity between him and Sushma Swaraj, as she would also seen to be working under Advani, both called to report to him. Though both enjoy Cabinet status and the same perks, conventionally, the LOP in the Lok Sabha, has enjoyed a higher status than her counterpart in the Rajya Sabha.
The LOP (Lok Sabha) is recognised in matters of governance. Foreign dignitaries call on the LOP (Lok Sabha). He/she is a member of the committees set up by the government. For instance, the appointment of a new CIC to replace Wajahat Habibullah is held up because Advani as LOP, part of the three-member selection committee, which has the PM on it, did not approve the name proposed by the government. As for Sushma, she took the credit for insisting that Advani remain as a “chatrachaya” in the party. She could not have become LOP without his blessings and will continue to need his support to remain in that position. The passing of the baton however does not spell the end of the problems that have been dogging the party. The BJP’s recent travails have stemmed from three factors. The first was an intense war of succession and on the face of it, the dust seems to be settling down on this score in the main opposition party.
The second was the ongoing tussle within the BJP on how to become autonomous of the RSS in its day-to-day functioning. Advani’s continuing presence is expected to strengthen the hands of those who do not want the Sangh to micro-manage the party. Even as Nitin Gadkari will be the Sangh’s person in the party and is expected to appoint trusted pracharaks in key positions, and has the power to suspend the party’s constitution and therefore even Advani’s new post, the Sangh may not have its way in everything. This is evident from the RSS’ decision to agree to give a new role to Advani.
The third, and this is going to be the difficult one, centres around what the party should stand for, how it can have an identity distinct from the Congress and yet be forward looking so as to be able to win over the younger voters.
Gadkari takes over the reins of the party at a time when the BJP morale is at an all-time low. The public wrangling in the party has taken its toll. The party has been losing elections and has not been able to put the government on the mat, even on issues as glaring as rising food prices which have been agitating the people.
Gadkari will be called upon to satisfy the Sangh, and take along the party, including those who have been opposed to him and project a unified face. He is a state level leader who has neither wielded authority at the national level — when he took over as the party chief last week, he himself said that he was going to see Delhi for the first time — nor does he enjoy a national standing, which might have helped.
What is going in favour of him is the unstinted support he has of the RSS. Though he made a mark as the man behind the Mumbai-Pune expressway, he is essentially viewed as a Nagpur boy who worked closely with the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and enjoys a rare rapport with him. Gadkari will also try and be the bridge between the BJP and the Sangh, which may wish to groom him — he is 52 — as a younger, future face of the BJP which can take on Rahul Gandhi and his youth brigade.
Besides, the new BJP chief does not belong to any faction, and is starting with zero expectation, which can work to his advantage. His first utterances show him as a no-nonsense person interested in action. The Atal-Advani era is coming to an end and the BJP is poised to enter a new phase. Vajpayee and Advani, who steered the party for half a century, hung together, for all their differences and rivalries, because they had a regard for each other. The health and future direction of BJP will hinge on the extent to which Sushma, who is the best orator after Vajpayee, and Jaitley, the master strategist, move in step. And also how Nitin Gadkari can take along Team BJP in a spirit of give and take.
neerja_chowdhury@yahoo.com
About the author:
Neerja Chowdhury is Political Editor, The New Indian Express