New Delhi, August 29
Even as the RSS and the BJP separately denied any discussion on the “succession plan,” Leader of the Opposition LK Advani met RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat here today amidst reports that he has finally agreed to step down from the post and look for a suitable successor.
Advani, who happened to be one of the last in a long list of BJP leaders who went separately to pay obeisance to the Sangh Sarsanghchalak, was at Keshav Kunj in Jhandewalan for close to two hours, giving rise to speculation that he has finally relented.
However, who will succeed Advani and when is still being worked out, said sources. With Rajnath Singh completing his term as party chief this December, the discussion between Bhagwat and party leaders also centered on who will be the next BJP president. But there were contradictory signals about both the timing of the change as well as who will be the next Leader of the Opposition and party president.
A section in the RSS and BJP indicated that the change may take place in December when Rajnath ends his term and the next party president is likely to be a dark horse from the states, someone like the low-profile but effective Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan. According to this section, RSS wants a complete overhaul of leadership. It may even have someone like Murli Manohar Joshi to lead the BJP in Parliament.
Bhagwat gave a subtle hint of his preference and that perhaps Joshi was also in the reckoning for Leader of the Opposition or even BJP president, when he decided to go to Joshi’s house for lunch today as against summoning Advani to Jhandewalan.
But the Advani camp, in
animated discussion since yesterday, seems to have put across a formula whereby Advani may be elevated to the post of NDA chairman and Sushma Swaraj may take over as the Leader of the Opposition. In the Rajya Sabha, Jaitely may continue as Leader of he Opposition and Venkaiah Naidu may again be asked to head the party. Alternately Jaitely could go back as the party president and elevate Venkaiah as Leader of the Opposition.
Advani’s meeting with Bhagwat was the culmination of two days of hectic parleys between the RSS chief and party leaders. Notably, even while journalists were leaving after attending Bhagwat press conference yesterday, Sushma Swaraj drove into RSS office with BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar. And not to be left behind, Jaitely and Venkaiah joined them soon. Later, in the night, they seemed to have persuaded Advani to fall in line, thus deserting the grand old man in his hour of need, notwithstanding the fact that the group constitutes the core of Advani camp.
