New Delhi/Mumbai, September 14
Hindutva politics continues to go round in circles with a sulking LK Advani refusing to accept what appears to be destined for the Parivar: It will be Narendra Modi as BJP’s choice for prime ministership no matter what. Yet, party leaders and ideologues are busy “sending out the right signals” wheedling Advani away from his avowed opposition to Modi’s nomination.In Mumbai, party chief Rajnath Singh said the patriarch had the “right” to be angry, but that did not reflect divisions in the party.
BJP teams made attempts to mollify Advani with senior party leaders Sushma Swaraj, Ananth Kumar and Balbir Punj knocking at his door. “No one is upset,” Sushma said after the meeting.
Sources said Advani is unlikely to find relief either from the party or the RSS as far as his reservations on Modi’s elevation were concerned. The RSS, sources said, has even conveyed it to Advani that he was free to do whatever he wanted to — resign, write blogs to express his angst — but the decision on Modi won’t be changed. Attempts to pacify him will continue to send the right message to onlookers, they said.
"Advani continues to be our leader, guardian and mentor. He has every right to be angry. I take cognisance of it and would try to address it. Where is the question of his isolation?” Rajnath said. “Advani never said Modi should not be named as BJP's PM candidate," he asserted. The BJP chief said he was confident the party would win 272+ seats and form the next government at the Centre.
Political observers believe even though Advani seems to be “emotionally charged”, he may not do anything that will further widen the gap with the RSS leadership. “He may wait till the Assembly poll to see their outcome and then react,” said an analyst. There are also efforts to win Advani over with a political solution for him and his daughter, Pratibha.
For now, the most anticipated moment is when Advani comes face-to-face with Modi at a rally of party workers in Bhopal on September 25. It remains to be seen whether or not Advani attends the rally.
Modi’s elevation follow ed months of focused efforts by the RSS leadership. The Sangh tried hard to build consensus among Modi's detractors and when things did not work out the way it wanted, Rajnath was
directed to go ahead with the announcement. The RSS, which has always tried to project its self as a cultural organisation that left politics to the BJP, this time came out of shadows to openly take charge of the situation.
RSS’ open involvement with the Modi issue is believed to be an indication that the organisation will take active part in directing BJP’s moves henceforth.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Modi’s elevation has put the BJP on the path of destruction and said India will never accept a "divisive" figure. "This was the right time to unite Opposition parties against the UPA government on the issue like price rise and corruption... but the BJP is working on some other agenda," he said.
(With agency inputs)
