The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Friday, July 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India

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Venkaiah blends youth with experience
Satish Misra and S. Satyanarayanan
Tribune News Service

FACT FILE

* 4 women, one Muslim in 75-member national executive
* M.L. Khurana dropped, likely to head Delhi unit
* Rajnath, Jaitley, Naqvi, Anita are Gen Secys
* Thakre, Joshi power centres kept at bay

New Delhi, July 11
Newly appointed President of the Bharatiya Janata Party M. Venkaiah Naidu announced his team of office-bearers, bringing in former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh as General Secretary and dropping Mrs Maya Singh and Mr Sunil Shastri as general secretaries.

Mr Naidu’s team, bearing an unmistakable stamp of Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani who is said to be the main inspirational force behind the BJP President’s selection of his party colleagues, is a blend of youth and experience.

Announcing a 75-member national executive, the BJP President has promoted Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as General Secretary and has also retained RSS pracharak Sanjay Joshi as General Secretary and brought in former Delhi Mayor and party MP from Delhi Anita Arya to the post.

Mr Naidu also appointed seven Vice-Presidents, including senior leaders Kailashpati Mishra, Pyarelal Khandelwal and Bal Apte and former Delhi Minister Harsh Vardhan.

While Delhi leader Madan Lal Khurana has not been retained as Vice-President as he will become the Delhi unit President, former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde will continue in the post.

Another notable feature of the new team is the emphasis on Dalits, tribesmen, women and minorities. For the first time, Mr Naidu has brought four women in his team and has promoted a Muslim to the important position of General Secretary.

Promoting Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan as Secretary to the party, Mr Naidu has appointed his protege G Krishna Reddy as President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

In his opening remarks, Mr Naidu said in the wake of electoral defeats, he had met the Prime Minister and urged for changes in the party and government to galvanise the organisation and had suggested that Mr Advani should lead the party.

Mr Naidu said the Prime Minister turned it down, saying that Mr Advani could not be spared from the government. So, as part of the mid-course review, his name was suggested for heading the party, he said adding, “I was shocked and surprised”.

Mr Naidu said though some senior leaders of the party had requested the Prime Minister to spare Mr Advani for party work to revitalise the BJP, Mr Vajpayee had categorically ruled it out saying, “I cannot spare his (Advani) services from the government, his presence in the government is very much essential.”

While Mr Naidu insisted that his team was a blend of experience and dynamism, the new President has constituted his team keeping parallel power centres of former BJP Presidents Kushabhau Thakre and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi at bay.

Mr Thakre, who was in charge of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Uttaranchal in the previous set-up, is almost on the margins of the party as his writ would also not run in Madhya Pradesh which has been his domain for years.

Not only that, Mr Naidu is likely to send Mr Thakre’s bete noire Minister for Youth and Sports Uma Bharti as the President of Madhya Pradesh, but former party President’s protege Maya Singh does not figure in the new team.

Similarly, Human Resource Development Minister Joshi’s hold on the party has been reduced to the bare minimum.

Mr Naidu revealed that he had also insisted that Law Minister Arun Jaitley be released for party work without even consulting him.

Mr Naidu said Mr Jaitley would be the spokesman assisted by Mr Naqvi and Mr Sunil Shastri, who will no longer be General Secretary.

Even here, Mr Shastri, who was made the main spokesman-cum-General Secretary by former party President Bangaru Laxman on special instructions of the Prime Minister, has been retained only as spokesman now and that too third in the list of spokespersons.

Mr Laxman, who was removed from the post of the party President in the wake of Tehelkagate, has been retained as member of the national executive and was specially mentioned by Mr Naidu at the press conference.

Mr Naidu said like Mr Laxman, he would try to bring in minorities, Dalits and tribesmen to the party fold.

Asserting that the emphasis would be on team work, Mr Naidu said, “Hereafter the party will not be President-centric. We will all work together. I will preside and the committee will decide on issues.”