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One party, two visions

The Advani era, pundits proclaimed, had ended with the advent of Rajnath Singh as the Bharatiya Janata Party's new helmsman. But Lal Krishna Advani, 78, is in no mood to walk into the sunset. He has let it be known that he will run for Prime Minister, if and when the occasion presents itself; further, that he stands by his praise of Mohammad Ali Jinnah's "secular" vision of August 1947. In an interview to India Today, Mr. Advani agreed that he was Prime Minister-in-waiting by virtue of his position as Leader of the Opposition. He acknowledged that his years in government had changed him, that his party and larger parivar were not in sync with this change, indeed that the BJP missed a "golden opportunity" in not recognising the import of his Pakistan visit and his Jinnah remarks. Naturally, this nuanced assessment cannot be to the liking of those who orchestrated the change of guard in the party. With party veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee announcing his retirement to coincide with Mr. Singh's elevation, the stage seemed set for Mr. Advani to follow suit. In fact, the formulation doing the rounds in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh circles was this: the Ram-Laxman pair had debuted together and would exit together. The RSS ought to have known better than to expect Mr. Advani to accept supinely the role plotted for him. Forget taking sanyas, as the script seemed to demand, he declared his prime ministerial ambitions. Thanks to this, the party has two `visions' staring in its face — one projected by Mr. Advani, the other by Mr. Singh.

What is clear is that the new party chief wants the BJP purged of Mr. Advani's influence. Mr. Singh's first act as party chief was to drive to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad headquarters for a meeting with Advani-phobe Ashok Singhal. The VHP practises destructive politics of a kind that makes it over-the-top even by sangh parivar standards. In 2004, Mr. Singhal boycotted an RSS meet protesting the presence of Mr. Advani. What better way to tell the world that henceforth the Sangh would have the last word than by publicly embracing the VHP? Lest there should remain some doubt, Mr. Singh clarified, in print and on televison, that he saw no reason why he should not consult with the Sangh. This contrasted sharply with Mr. Advani's public message to the RSS: "Lately things have happened which give the impression that the BJP cannot take a decision unless it is endorsed by the RSS." Mr. Singh's hack defence of the RSS will surely endear him to K.S. Sudarshan & Co. But a happy and contented sangh parivar could mean the beginning of another set of problems for Mr. Singh. The last thing the National Democratic Alliance needs is a BJP leader publicly perceived as taking dictation from Jhandewalan. Mr. Vajpayee's wider acceptability was for the precise reason that he was not a Sangh favourite. Mr. Advani was shrewd enough to realise this, hence the post-Pakistan image makeover.

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