Why is Sanjay Joshi, one-time adversary of PM Modi, back in news?
Stranded in political wilderness for more than a decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bête noire Sanjay Joshi, a former RSS ‘pracharak’, is making news again --- a section of the media (mostly digital) is speculating over the possibility of his return to the BJP as no less that the president of the party.
It is being claimed that he is being backed by the RSS and senior BJP leadership is now trying to convince RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat to consider Joshi for the post of the general secretary (organisation), a position currently held by BL Santhosh.
Just rumours, say BJP insiders
BJP president J P Nadda, whose term has been extended, is due to be replaced. This is true, say BJP insiders, who insist that no one knows when or who will be the new party chief. They dismiss the speculation regarding Joshi's return as “baseless, mischievous rumours and attempts to create trouble”, keeping in mind the “past history” between once-time friends Joshi and PM Modi.
“PM Modi’s rivals believe his position has weakened after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, so they are just trying to create trouble by floating such ideas... One day it is Shivraj Chouhan (Union minister), next it is Vasundhara Raje (former Rajasthan CM) whose names crop up... When any decision (regarding the new BJP president) is made, it will be conveyed to all,” said a BJP insider, terming all such speculations as “generated by over-imaginative minds not very fond of PM Modi”.
Who is Sanjay Joshi?
No longer in the BJP, Joshi was once “quite influential” in the party, later known to be counted among PM Modi’s adversaries in the saffron outfit.
In 2012, he was “forced” out of the BJP's national executive and the party itself when Nitin Gadkari was the BJP president. Joshi was considered close to Gadkari and his resignation was considered as a big victory for Modi, then the Gujarat chief minister. It was claimed that Joshi's resignation was a precondition Modi insisted upon before deciding to attend the Mumbai conclave of the party.
Joshi was sent to Gujarat around 1989-90 by the RSS with the aim of strengthening the organisation in the state. Modi was then then party general secretary and when the BJP formed the government in Gujarat in 1995, the collective efforts of Joshi and Modi were credited for the win.
When it came to the chief ministership, the choice was between two senior leaders — Keshubhai Patel and Shankarsinh Vaghela. Apparently, both Modi and Joshi favoured Patel. After Vaghela revolted and Suresh Mehta was appointed the chief minister, Modi was sent to Delhi. Joshi, who continued his work in Gujarat, "benefited a lot from Modi's departure from Gujarat political scene”, according to insiders.
When the BJP returned to power in 1998, Modi wanted to return to Gujarat but could not because of Joshi, say insiders. Later, after Keshubhai Patel was removed and Modi made the chief minister, Joshi was sent to Delhi.
Is another comeback possible?
It was sometime in 2011-12 --- after around six years of being in political wilderness following a “fake CD case” in 2005, after which he had been forced to resign as general secretary --- that Joshi was asked by Gadkari to “assist” the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. However, after the party suffered a debacle in the UP elections, he was “forced” to resign from the national executive and the party.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Joshi, who also belongs to Nagpur, handled Gadkari’s campaign in the constituency. After the demonetisation in 2016, he expressed his admiration for PM Modi, and did so again on many other occasions.
Though he has been out of the BJP for a long time, this is not the first time that his name has been “floated” in connection with a post in the party. Is there is any substance to the speculation? Only time will tell, but BJP insiders insist “another comeback is not quite possible in near future”.
