New Delhi, December 24
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh appears to have emerged a favourite of both the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP top leadership to take over the reins of the party when present president L.K. Advani steps down from office after the silver jubilee conference of the party in Mumbai next week.
Sources said the decision to appoint him to the top post was finalised at a meeting involving former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, party vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu and Mr Advani last night.
Subsequently, the party leadership’s decision was conveyed to the Rajnath Singh also.
A former Union Minister and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Rajnath Singh met Mr Advani at the latter’s residence this morning.
Later, he left for Gajraula in Uttar Pradesh to continue his “nyay yatra” in the state. He is expected to return to the Capital this evening and call on Mr Vajpayee.
The sources said the RSS leadership had also been taken into confidence on his nomination to the top party post.
“Advaniji is our party president,” Rajnath Singh told reporters after his meeting with the BJP chief.
Asked whether he was willing to take up the responsibility, he said: “I have discharged to the best of my abilities whatever responsibilities have so far been entrusted to me.”
However, Mr Advani has declined to react to media reports suggesting that the former UP Chief Minister would be his most likely successor.
When mediapersons asked Mr Advani about the reports, he said: “I have nothing to say on the issue. No decision has been made so far.”
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here.
Rajnath Singh emerged a front-runner after the party leadership in consultations reviewed the state of the BJP in North India where the former Chief Minister has an image of an “honest and upright politician who has a strong following among Rajputs”.
He is known as a “good organiser” who ensured the party’s victory in Jharkhand election and administered the state well during his time as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a BJP leader said.
Shahira Naim adds from Lucknow: The BJP state office opposite the picturesque Vidhan Sabha acquired a festive look today with senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Rajnath Singh’s name in the reckoning for the top post in the party.
He was here at the office when the news broke on Friday. As the news came in, party flags, banners and badges appeared from everywhere on the premises.
While BJP official spokesperson H.N. Dikshit maintained that nothing was official, the hustle and bustle in his office suggested otherwise.
Observers believed that Rajnath Singh’s assuming the top post in the BJP promised better days for the party in UP.
Largely seen as an able administrator and brilliant at networking the party at the grassroots level, he was expected to rejuvenate the party in the Hindi heartland and motivate it to rise above intra-party rivalry.
Rajnath Singh was first elected as MLA from Mirzapur in 1977 at the age of 26. At 24, when he was arrested during the Emergency and put in Mirzapur and Naini jails, stated a party press note.
In 1983, he was appointed state secretary of the state BJP and in 1984 he became the state president of the party’s youth wing.
In 1989 he was made an MLC. He was appointed Education Minister in 1991, state BJP president in 1997 and stayed Chief Minister from 2000 to 2002.
He was Rajya Sabha MP for two terms and Union Minister for Surface Transport in 1999 before he was sent to UP as Chief Minister.
During his tenure as the Chief Minister he had upset his opponents, in particular the Samajwadi Party chief, by his decision to reserve a portion of the jobs for the most Backward Castes.
