They are divided on why the party fared poorly in polls. They are divided on policy. Should the BJP continue to support the Indo-US nuclear deal which it promoted while in government? Or oppose it now because it is in opposition? Should it continue to support economic reforms which it promoted while in government? Or oppose them now because it is in Opposition? Prospects in the forthcoming UP and Punjab polls add to the worry.
However, BJP leaders are not wrestling with any of these problems.
They wrestle with a problem more urgent: who among them should be the next PM? L.K. Advani was the first to offer a solution. He told CNN-IBN that according to convention the leader of the Opposition is the automatic choice for PM. Since...ahem...Advani is leader of the Opposition, the problem seemed solved. He went on to add that although he proposed Vajpayee’s name for PM, he did not expect Vajpayee to return the favour. Favour? Holy cow! What might have happened if Advani had not made that favour?
To promote this exclusive interview, CNN-IBN telecast these excerpts two days before due date. Tens of thousands, among them this scribe, saw the bytes on TV. The channel also issued a press release quoting from these excerpts. Alas! Advani’s candour did not please his colleagues. Damage control swung into action. The subsequent promotional bytes and the interview itself were suitably doctored.
Unfortunately, the matter did not end there. Nagpur cracked the whip. BJP president Rajnath Singh graciously announced that, though party president, he would not be the PM. He added that only Vajpayee or Advani could be PM. The plot thickened. Was Vajpayee named to block Advani?
Is all this intended to pre-empt Laloo Yadav, who has declared he will be PM? Or does the BJP know something we don’t? Is Soniaji about to sack the PM midway through the government’s term? It is hard to tell. Anyway I’m not taking chances. I shall be writing to Soniaji to inform her that I won’t be available. And what about you readers? Are any of you available?
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)
