If the new BJP chief reads the party factions right in his new innings as leader, he could finesse some of the incipient opposition
The sudden — and inglorious — exit of Nitin Gadkari as BJP president, and the last-minute induction on Wednesday of Rajnath Singh, who has held that post before, underscores once again the inner fragility of the saffron party.
For the RSS, the true high command of all Hindutva-oriented outfits in the country, this cascade of events paradoxically marks a defeat as well eventual triumph, making it clear to the BJP and other saffron bodies who calls the shots and that inner rebellions can only be stillborn.
Mr Gadkari, a provincial leader at best, was pitchforked to the highest position in the party thanks to the RSS. This was done over the murmurings of the BJP’s top national leaders. Subsequently, Hindutva’s mother body — whose ways are seen as opaque and mysterious — was able to get the BJP constitution altered to permit Mr Gadkari a second term, setting the stage for his re-election on Wednesday. This was thwarted by several senior BJP leaders raising objections.
To the chagrin of the RSS, government investigations into alleged dubious dealings of Mr Gadkari’s companies gave these leaders the handle to turf out their chief, who put in his papers without warning Tuesday night. If this was a setback to the RSS’ authority, the saffron high command rallied with alacrity to insert another leader of its choice, Rajnath Singh, as BJP chief. Whatever the appearances, it’s likely Mr Singh was always the second string in the Hindutva parent body’s bow, and Mr Gadkari held off his resignation till the very last minute so that no unexpected challengers may throw their hat into
the ring.
Thanks to this clever move, blood-letting was avoided. The BJP at least has the potential to rally around its new chief. That is good from the point of view of a national party that hopes to challenge the Congress-led UPA in the next general election. The downside, however, is that Mr Singh had not been able to run the BJP as a cohesive unit in his last innings as BJP president.
He was seen essentially as a provincial Uttar Pradesh leader who had been thrust centrestage by the RSS, a move that did not appear to have the backing of the party’s other national-level leaders, although Mr Singh had held a Cabinet berth under Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. If the new BJP chief reads the party factions right in his new innings as leader, he could finesse some of the incipient opposition. But for this he must have factions within Uttar Pradesh with him, especially now that former chief minister Kalyan Singh has returned to the BJP fold after a long interregnum. All in all, a tricky situation.
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