Bjp leaders await 2006 with bated breath. They expect the party to zoom ahead after New Year. L.K. Advani, it may be recalled, is due to retire from the president's post early 2006. So how will a new president improve matters? To appreciate that, recall the background.
Advani cut short Venkaiah Naidu's tenure to become president. The wise men of Nagpur were unhappy with Naidu's management of the party. So they replaced him with the Iron Man himself. Iron Man started off with a bang.
To prove that Lord Ram alias Sardar Patel-II alias Loh Purush was as secular as A.B. Vajpayee, he dashed to Pakistan and praised Mohammed Ali Jinnah for his secularism. To draw full mileage from this spectacular move, he took no party colleague into confidence. The result was a trifle...umm...unexpected. Both RSS and BJP created an uproar. Advani almost resigned. But being indispensable, he renewed efforts to manage BJP better.
His man management was unique. He succeeded in driving Madan Lal Khurana, the one leader to garland him after his Jinnah remarks, out of the party. Advani thereby kept the party busy for a month while it negotiated Khurana's return.
Soon the Bihar poll campaign started. To contain Uma Bharati's Hindutva eloquence, Advani skilfully alienated her. Advani achieved a double whammy by alienating Shatrughan Sinha, Bihar's son of the soil. With both star BJP campaigners neutralised, the campaign rested with Nitish Kumar of the JD(U). The latter spectacularly helped improve BJP fortunes in Bihar. Since proof of the halwa is in the eating, Advani justifiably cornered all glory within BJP ranks for his unfathomable strategy. It brought results.
However, the appointment of Sushil Modi as the BJP deputy chief minister led to protests among BJP legislators. They waved black flags before both Advani and Vajpayee. This proved that Advani had revived inner-party democracy. It is hoped that the next time around, the legislators will wave fists. Advani ended 2005 by enacting a gripping drama involving Uma Bharati which led her to quit the party and announce she was the real BJP. Satisfied with these achievements, Advani is likely to quit the president's post.
So, who is the frontrunner for next president? Why, who else but Venkaiah Naidu? After Advani's performance, the wise men of Nagpur have mysteriously discovered many new virtues in Naidu.
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)
