New Delhi, September 4
RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat today held consultations with the former
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee amidst reports that the veteran
stalwart of the BJP has been approached by the Sangh chief to involve
him in the consensual process for the proposed succession plan that he
has charted for the party.
Bhagwat, who returned here after three-day long meet of the Sangh in
Uttarakhand, drove down to Vajpayee’s Krishna Menon Marg residence to
meet the octogenarian ailing leader. After the meeting, RSS issued a
one-line statement saying, Bhagwat “met Vajpayee to know about his
health and discuss contemporary issues.”
Last week Bhagwat had held detailed confabulations with all factions
of the BJP to draw up a consensual succession plan to Advani and Rajnath.
In the process, he also stressed on the need for a complete revamp and a
total outsider to assume the party president’s post.
Since then a couple of names have been thrown up including that of
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Chhatisgarh CM Raman Singh, BJP
vice president Bal Apte and some others. But a consensus has not emerged
on any name so far. And till then the replacement of the existing
leadership is a far cry.
However, it is pretty obvious now that there are clearly at least two
camps in the central leadership of the BJP. One aligned with Advani,
other swearing by Vajpayee. And while it is said that Vajpayee is unwell
and handicapped in oral communication, successive BJP or former BJP
leaders like Jaswant Singh and Arun Shourie have been rushing to him
everytime a crisis hits the BJP.
With Bhagwat calling on the former PM, it is virtually confirmed that
notwithstanding his state of health, Vajpayee continues to exercise
considerable influence both in his party as well as in the Sangh.
