ADVANI’S RESIGNATION AND HIS SUBSEQUENT RETRACTION

It was quiet unexpected. It was a bomb-shell. Or so it seemed. None had expected such a move from the part of a leader of national stature like Lal Kishan Advani. But for Mr.Advani at present there is not a single leader of national stature in BJP(Bharatiya Janata Party). One Jaswant Singh, One Yashwant Sinha, one Sushma Swaraj albeit very much in the party. Even Jaswant Singh, who donned the prestigious roles of Finance Minister first and External Affairs later, won’t go to the extent of claiming to be a national leader of repute. But Mr.Singh, Mr.Sinha and Ms.Swaraj all three are with the 85 year old patriarch, who after weighing all pros and cons of or so it seemed, quit his posts of BJP parliamentary board, National Executive and Election Committee Chairman had nursed the ambitions of standing as a Prime Ministerial candidate in the ensuing General Elections in 2014.

Sensing that it is the appropriate moment to galvanize all forces against a corruption-ridden scam, scam-ridden, scandal-ridden, UPA 2 with its arrogant manners for which it needs to be ‘appreciated’, BJP’s incumbent President Rajnath Singh along with second-rung leaders of the party were on a hot pursuit of building a cohesive force to fight out in the upcoming elections so as to enable it to be catapulted to power in 2014 after a spell of 10 years. While busy immersed in seeking a suitable person to lead from the front certain leaders at last found a person in the form of Narendra Modi, who seemed to be emerging a potential force to majority of BJP leaders or so it seemed an obliging Modi, who sees himself as the deserving fellow jumped to the front with enormous enthusiasm and delight at the thought of keeping himself in the saddle.

BJP leadership except senior leaders like L.K.Advani, Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Sushma Swaraj were unanimous in projecting Mr.Narendra Modi as the new Chairman Election Committee of BJP.In the National Defence Alliance (NDA) for which there is up until now no congruous of opinions in NDA. A sulking JD(U) leader and Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar had already made his position clear his strong reservations against projecting Mr.Modi as the Prime Ministerial Candidate.

Notwithstanding Janata Dal (United)’s fierce opposition, certain Bharatiya Janata Party went ahead with determination out of hubris and arrogance come what may, Advani and his colleagues sat mute spectators enjoying the circus about which they had a premonition.

Modi’s tainted past is not yet forgiven by a minority community which witnessed and underwent mind-boggling, blood-chilling sufferings in the 2002 pogrom condemned the world over.

His political chicanery brought him laurels which he deserves not, but three consecutive election victories to the State Assembly made him feel himself as a larger than life figure. And this exalted feeling prompted him and his admirers to think that he is capable of leading country of diversity sitting in the South Block at Lutyeri’s Delhi.

But he should have remembered that Gujarat is only a part of India and India is a vast country of diversities at that and regional leader like him aiming to be the Prime Minister is like a child crying for the moon. Nursing ambitions is anybody’s right.

Lal Kishan Advani, who donned the role Deputy Prime Minister of India in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet is seeming to be the fit person to contest as Prime Ministeral candidate, though he is running in his mid 80’s. Though not a person following the Hindutva ideology, in the capacity as a citizen of India, this writer is of the opinion that projecting Advani is good for NDA as also Narendra Modi. He has still, miles to go before aspiring for the prestigious post and the formost thing expected of him shed the larger than life feeling. But within 24 hours of his resignation BJP leaders huddled together to force Mr.Advani not to resign from the post of Election Committee Chairman, Leader of the Parliamentary board, and National Executive. An unrelenting Advani stuck to his position and all thought it was enough for him, or so it seemed. But this leader of national stature meekly surrendered before the diktats of Sangh Parivar Head, Mohan Bhagavat and took back his resignation from three bodies only to see the NDA beginning to crack on the question of Narendra Modi heading the NDA alliance from the front in the future.