Rajnath pips Venkaiah as BJP says no to Advani’s proxy

Advani fought till the last to install his loyalist as the party president but Vajpayee was in no mood to forgive Venkaiah for undermining his authority. The party rallied behind Vajpayee, and Advani ended up seconding the former Prime Minister’s proposal.

By Our Correspondent

The heavens do not appear to be smiling on Venkaiah Naidu, who presumed that his yearlong penance of giving up the party presidentship after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) debacle in Maharashtra would be enough to see him bounce back to the top. Instead, it was Rajnath Singh, the thakur from Uttar Pradesh, who found himself at the helm of affairs in the BJP.

While Venkaiah Naidu has been wearing an apoplectic public face that he was not in the fray for the BJP president’s post, party insiders say that all along he had been banking on the charisma of L K Advani to pull him through. In fact, ever since the Chennai national executive meeting on December 31, 2004, where Advani had declared that he would step down as the party president, Venkaiah Naidu, the young-old gameplayer from Hyderabad, had been working insidiously to ensure that nobody scuttled his chance of clawing his way to the top. At a meeting of party general secretaries, he is even reported to have suggested that the next president be selected after the Mumbai conclave. Otherwise the fallout of the entire messy process could hijack the concluding celebrations of the party's silver jubilee.

Knowing full well that Advani will be abdicating on December 31, the burly vice-president had indirectly suggested that an ‘interim’ president be appointed. The ‘longevity’ of such an interim arrangement to be discussed subsequently by the party’s national executive. Naidu expected the move to stymie the chances of the thakur from Uttar Pradesh, who was fast emerging as the favourite to succeed Advani, with even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) seeing in him the ‘Right’ colours. The leader of the ‘gang of four’, as the mercurial sanyasin, Uma Bharti, had called the BJP’s second-rung leaders, saw red in the increasing RSS interference in party affairs.

Venkaiah Naidu finally knew the party post had passed him by when RSS pointperson Suresh Soni had a dinner meeting with Advani on December 19, where the fine print of the future party presidential term was discussed. The dinner meeting had been preceded by a number of calls to Advani from RSS chief KS Sudershan—on Diwali and again on November 8 on Advani's birthday—to exchange ‘pleasantries’. The two often-confrontational leaders had also broken bread together, so to speak, on November 18, when Sudershan had visited Advani’s residence for lunch.
Rajnath Singh was informed of his selection by Jaswant Singh, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He was told that the decision had been taken by former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Jaswant Singh and Venkaiah Naidu, in consultation with other leaders. Naidu, it appears, had declined to accept the mantle because he was hurt by a ‘malicious’ campaign to tarnish his image through the comparatively innocuous incident of a relative's sales tax evasion case.

During the meeting, former human resource development minister Murli Manohar Joshi's name also figured as a potential candidate, but he ended up having no takers. His name had been proposed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders Ashok Singhal and Pravin Togadia, while the RSS had remained silent. The rejection of Joshi's nomination was the signal for Rajnath's acceptance. Vajpayee proposed Rajnath's name, Advani immediately seconded it—and Naidu was left looking into the abyss of his own ambitions.

Earlier, Rajnath's only other serious contender Sushma had opted out of the race. She had conveyed her decision to Advani during a meeting in November. She is learnt to have to told him that while she "wanted to become party president, she did not want to succeed Advani."
Rajnath Singh's selection has apparently gone well with Joshi. In fact, he was the first one to have congratulated him. In this, he was followed by former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma.

For all other party leaders, including those who were in contention for the party presidentship, the standard reply has been that "the issue is under consideration and a decision will be announced after Advani resigns." Even the RSS, which has already made clear its likings for Rajnath Singh, is keeping quite. Sangh spokesman Ram Madhav said, "we can not say anything till an announcement is made. But we are sure whatever party will decide will be for the common good."

Meanwhile, with ‘Right’-wing heaven having showered its blessings on him, Rajnath Singh appears to be in no mood to annoy its denizens. The thakur has decided to delay his ascendancy to
the throne by two weeks in view of the inauspicious Malmas. His astrologers have informed him that he should wait till Makar Sankranti, January 14, to assume charge as the new BJP president.