Advani asserted the Nagpur man’s re-election would compromise party’s campaign against graft
The run-up to the election of the BJP president over thepast six months had all the elements of a thriller. Nitin Gadkari’s re-electionfor the second term was considered a foregone conclusion; facilitated by hismost powerful mentors in the RSS who seem hell-bent on micro-managing the BJPaffairs. The front-ranking leadership of the party showed its characteristictimidity and almost surrendered before the RSS.
As the script seemed almost finalised and the stage wasbeing set for Gadkari’s re-election on Tuesday, the RSS appeared to haveforgotten the old adage that a day is long time in politics. By the evening,Gadkari was edged out and Rajnath Singh emerged as the consensus candidate forthe party’s top post. On Wednesday, he was finally elected unopposed for thesecond time within three years.
What exactly transpired in those crucial 12 hours thatsealed Gadkari’s fate? Those aware of the BJP politics knew it too well thatGadkari’s imposition as the party president was guided by a singular impulse ofRSS chief Mohan Bhagwat: to establish his hegemony over the party. Despite thefact that Gadkari’s unacceptability as the party head among the cadre was quiteknown, the RSS’s stubbornness to persist with its choice rankled a largesection of the leadership.
This feeling of angst and uneasiness among the cadre wasassessed silently by the party veteran LK Advani who gave an unambiguousmessage to the RSS that Gadkari’s continuation was simply untenable. Insiderssay that Advani was quite categorical in his assertion that Gadkari’scontinuation as the BJP chief would severely compromise the party’s positionand blunt its campaign against corruption. Initially, the RSS tried to brushaside Advani’s objections as the old man’s ranting against it and Gadkari who groundedthe veteran leader’s fascination to see himself as future prime minister.
Given Advani’s long experience in politics and his skills asa hard bargainer, the RSS soon realised that its underestimation of Advani’sstrength was a mistake. This realisation became all the more evident when theincome tax department conducted raids on Gadkari’s premises and stories aboutthe mysterious death of a young girl in his car about three years ago in Nagpurstarted circulating in the media. For the first time, the RSS realised itsposition on morality and ethics vis-a-vis Advani and the BJP leadership wasdubious. Insiders admit that after the I-T raids at Gadkari’s premises as wellas Yashwant Sinha and Mahesh Jethmalani’s attempt to file nominations against Gadkari,Mohan Bhagwat realised for the first time his vulnerability in running the BJPaffairs. Bhagwat blinked and gave up his insistence on Gadkari.
There are all indications that Rajnath Singh’s unanimouselection was not without hiccups. Singh in his earlier stint as the BJP chief(2006-10) was seen as the RSS’s poster boy running against Advani and thoseperceived to be close to him. He was instrumental in removing Gujarat ChiefMinister Narendra Modi from the party’s powerful decision-making body, the centralparliamentary board (CPB), in 2007. Singh’s running feud with Arun Jaitley overinclusion of the Delhi businessman Sudhanshu Mittal in the party’sdecision-making body was an open secret. By all accounts, Singh was known forkowtowing to the RSS’s diktats.
However, in the given circumstance, Singh’s antecedentsappear to be a buried chapter as he assiduously cultivated his relations withModi, Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, and showed adequate deference to Advani. Atthe same time, he played the role of a troubleshooter for the RSS and helddiscussions with all these leaders to neutralise their hostility againstGadkari. In the emerging scenario, he was equally at ease with the RSS as withthe BJP leadership opposed to Gadkari. His “studied neutrality” in the wholeaffair stood him in good stead. Given his own stature as former UP chiefminister and union minister, Singh is not a political lightweight either whocan be dismissed easily.
in association with Governance Now
