Lal Krishna Advani has always been a charioteer for his party. As he traversed through the cities and villages, populated and barren patches during his various yatras through the decades, set the national agenda with Ram Rath Yatra in 1990s and unleashed a debate on secularism, he would often say that through his journeys he got to feel pulse of the people and accordingly set his own discourse. But in his last blog, written a day before he resigned from all positions in the BJP, he talked of Vishwaroop and Bhishma Pitamah on his bed of arrows. The symbolism of it was significant. After all the views and decisions, he has taken a U-turn and announced a comeback in the party with all his positions. Just amazing, isn't it?
A wounded Advani has given shock therapy to the party he nursed for over 60 years. Most party leaders still can’t figure out how to deal with his decision, Though the Parliamentary Board rejected his resignation outright, nobody in the party seem to have a clue yet about how to get him back in the fold or whether to allow time to be the healer. The move has complicated Modi’s task as the chairman of the campaign committee and of Rajnath Singh as party president.
Modi’s supporters believe that the impact of current turmoil and its impact on the public will only be temporary and in about a month the entire Advani episode would be forgotten. They believe Modimania or ‘Namonia’, as some in Congress call it, will grip the nation. Advani’s supporters point the stalwart wasn’t against Modi’s elevation to the post of campaign committee chief, but only the manner in which it was being pushed down his throat, as if he was a villain. However, Advani is unlikely to have wanted to be a part of the chorus seeking Modi’s elevation whether it took place in Goa or some other party conclave.
Ironically, for a entire decade since 2002, Advani had been criticised by a faction within the BJP and a broad section outside the party, for being Modi’s protector and then his principal cheerleader. Modi needed Advani to make him the chief minister and then to stand firmly behind him when the some within party, and almost everyone outside wanted his head. The stalwart also stood behind the Gujarat Chief Minister when Modi systematically went about eliminating his rivals within the party and the Sangh Parivar in Gujarat. At the time, Advani reigned supreme in organisational matters the BJP.
However, post the Jinnah controversy in 2005, Advani needed support more than Modi needed his former mentor. But Modi backed Advani, and the BJP patriarch missed no chance to hail Modi as a leader, visionary and administrator. He needed Modi by his side if he were to realize his dream. To him Modi was his natural successor in due course.
Advani now finds himself vilified, criticised and humiliated for being an obstruction to Modi’s rise on the national stage and even saw protests outside his residence. From being the builder of the BJP, he was suddenly the fall guy, to be blamed for all the problems, be it a crushing defeat in Karnataka or a delay in Modi’s anointment.
The declaration of Modi’s elevation without Advani’s presence, even in the background, was an indicator of the advent of a new era in which he was to be on the sidelines while the Gujarat chief minister scripted his swan song. Advani was left with three options – silently sulk in his domain and fade away, announce his retirement from active politics or give the party a shock and let them know that he was no pushover even at the age of 86.
Advani perhaps wanted to show that Modi couldn’t push him aside as he had done with Keshubhai Patel in Gujarat. Advani will go down, but not without setting his own terms of exit and leave the rest for history to judge, no matter how conflicting the opinions may be.
The damage done to the party is immense, at least for now. The party too could have handled the stalwart and the entire issue much better. The BJP Parliamentary Board which held its emergency meeting yesterday and rejected his resignation saying, “Advani has been our leader and guide. The role inevitably belongs to him. The party needs his sage advice and guidance more than ever before.”
However, there is little clarity on the party will go ahead and work on the basis of his sagely advice. A series of informal meetings are taking place and phone calls are being made, but Advani has left very little room for an exit or for settlement. Given the contents of his resignation letter are in the public domain, any compromise from Advani’s side will only diminish his stature, which is already under strain.
This isn’t Advani’s first brush with putting his party on notice. Seven years ago, in June 2005, on his return from Pakistan, Advani had resigned as BJP president. The controversy had given the RSS a much sought after opportunity to seize control of the BJP. While Advani was pursued by his party colleagues to withdraw his resignation, they never really backed him, and six months later he resigned allowing the RSS to make Rajnath Singh the BJP president. Modi supported Advani then because it suited him – if RSS could demolish Advani, he could be the next target as the Sangh Parivar in Gujarat was gunning for him. Advani finally survived but lost control of the party to the RSS.
However, this time besides the RSS, Advani is pitted against his most prolific protégé. The stalwart has tactically resigned from party posts not from the parliamentary posts he holds. So while Advani’s political career may not have come to an end just yet, there is no easy path ahead for him or the BJP in the days ahead.
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