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| BJP president fails to inspire awe | | National Executive unlikely to toes his line | |
B L KAK
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 6: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is divided, with a section of the partymen pitted against the beleaguered president, Rajnath Singh. Indications are by no means uncertain that Rajnath Singh is being quietly edged out by his colleagues. Both his friends and critics anxiously await the BJP's line of action from the National Executive of the BJP meeting at Dehradun from Thursday, September 7.
The BJP's National Executive was to focus on political and electoral strategies for upcoming Assembly polls in Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. But BJP's all-important general secretary, Arun Jaitley, took many, including Rajnath Singh, by surprise by stating that the party would concentrate on national security and threats posed by Maoist guerrillas.
This, according to the BJP-watchers, is bound to make Rajnath Singh unhappy. Rajnath Singh, who became the president last year and whose term expires next year, is intent on concentrating on ways of winning the coming elections in as many States as possible. But the BJP is on a weak wicket in Rajnath Singh's home State, Uttar Pradesh, where it was once the brightest star. For this reason alone the National Executive is meeting in Uttaranchal, and not in the more crucial Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP stalwart, LK Advani, is no longer his party's president. Rajnath Singh, Advani admits, is the BJP chief. But Advani, much against Rajnath Singh's expectations, still calls the shots. All leaders of the BJP, it has been found, turn to Advani to understand the ways of the party and even what to tell the media. It has also been found that none of the general secretaries is particularly enamoured of Rajnath Singh though outwardly they show him respect. And Rajnath Singh is reportedly peeved that Advani's men will pick the candidates to contest the coming elections.
In such a case, Rajnath Singh supporters say, credit for BJP wins will go to Advani, while defeats, which is widely expected in Uttar Pradesh, will be blamed on the party president. The general impression is that Advani still is the de facto head of the party, and all the leaders continue to look up to him for deciding the party's official stand on crucial issues. Also in Uttar Pradesh, former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who represents Lucknow in the Lok Sabha, dominates the scene, overwhelming Rajnath Singh.
BJP sources say that Vajpayee remains close to Kalraj Mishra while Advani has a good equation with former Chief Minister, Kalyan Singh. In the process, Rajnath Singh is virtually isolated in UP of which he was once a Chief Minister. All this is forcing Rajnath Singh to take a hard line at the National Executive meeting. To add to the confusion, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and its hardline affiliates collectively known as Sangh Parivar would be keeping a close watch on the deliberations at the National Executive. |
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