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BJP infighting : Crisis over Khurana’s expulsion continues

	September 19, 2005

The crisis in the BJP over veteran leader Madan Lal Khurana’s expulsion from the party is fast becoming a question mark over party president L.K. Advani’s leadership. Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee remain at cross purposes, and despite a flurry of meetings and confabulations on Saturday, Sept. 10, no solution appears to be emerging. Both top leaders of the party remain firm on their respective stands over the expulsion of Khurana from the party on the ground of his alleged in discipline.



In a setback to the ongoing efforts to break the logjam in BJP caused by Vajpayee’s public criticism of Khurana’s expulsion, the Delhi strongman has been served with a formal expulsion order indicating a hardening of stand on party chief L.K. Advani’s part.



An apparently upset Khurana who, received the letter signed by BJP general secretary Sanjay Joshi on Saturday night, rushed to Vajpayee’s residence early on Sunday, Sept. 11 to register his protest. “It’s clear that a section of BJP is against me. It is a matter of concern that the letter has been served on me when talks were on and Vajpayee had expressed his reservations about the decision’, he said emerging from a 90-minute meeting with Vajpayee.



As Khurana left, party general secretary Pramod Mahajan, who has been mediating between Vajpayee and Advani, called on the former Prime Minister prior to his departure for Lucknow.



The latest salvo from the Advani camp has deepened further the crisis in the party even as efforts were being made to defuse it.



Reports say a number of younger leaders of the party including Pramod Mahajan, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitely, Sanjay Joshi and senior leader Jaswant Singh met at Advani’s residence and prepared a draft statement which was later taken to Vajpayee’s residence. Apparently, there was no agreement on the draft statement and no solution emerged.



At one time, Pramod Mahajan told reporters after going to Vajpayee’s residence on Saturday evening that a statement resolving the issue would be issued shortly. But later, reporters were told that there would be no statement issued on Saturday night.



Sources said that Vajpayee took the position during the parleys that Khurana’s fresh statement that he was willing to work with Advani and considered him a “Guru” was sufficient for a patch up. Also it reflected what Vajpayee would have wished Khurana to say to bring about the easing of the crisis.



Advani, on the other hand, was of the view that if Khurana could be taken back into the party with merely one such statement, a similar case could be made for other BJP leaders like K.N. Govindacharya who had to leave the party for criticising Vajpayee.



Madan Lal Khurana on his part, met Vajpayee twice on Saturday. One of the meetings took place in the presence of Pramod Mahajan. Khurana’s line was that his problem was not with Advani, but with the younger set of leaders trying to replace the old guard. Or, it appears that Vajpayee also brushed aside suggestions that he tone down his stand disapproving Khurana’s expulsion.



Most party leaders agree that it is not only the Khurana issue on which the “big two” differ. Their disagreement over the continuation of Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister is public knowledge and that the issue has been pending since 2002 Gujarat riots. There was an open rift after former party president Venkaiah Naidu tried to project a twin leadership of Loh Purush, Vikas Purush (iron man and development man, his descriptions for Advani and Vajpayee.) Naidu suggested to Vajpayee as early as 2002 that he relinquish the Prime Minister’s position to Advani, and become a candidate for President.





Advani finds position untenable, may quit



In fast moving developments at the beginning of last week, Advani on September 7 accepted the recommendation of the BJP Central Disciplinary Panel to expel Madan Lal Khurana from the party for six years. Earlier last month, Khurana had been suspended from the party on charges of indiscipline and a showcause notice served on him.



Immediately after Advani’s decision to expel Khurana from the party, Atal Bihari Vajpayee came out with a statement on September 8 questioning the decision to expel Khurana. In a statement issued under his official letterhead, Vajpayee said, “Khurana had served the party and society selflessly for four decades and spread its message far and wide. It would have been better if instead of action being taken against him, he was given one more opportunity to clarify his stand.”





Fresh wave of rebellion, demand for change of guard



Vajpayee’s statement quickly triggered a fresh wave of rebellion seeking a change of guard. Former Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said, “Vajpayee has given a wise view.” Known Advani-baiters Yashwant Sinha and Pyarelal Khandelwal too came out with statements seeking revocation of Khurana’s expulsion. They also spoke to Joshi.



Ironically, two months ago, it was Vajpayee who had won a reprieve for Advani from the RSS following the controversy over remarks on Jinnah. He had spoken to RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan to allow Advani an honourable exit.



What exactly triggered Vajpayee to come out with the statement in support of Khurana was not clear, but BJP insiders said the former Prime Minister was furious at Advani for not consulting him on Khurana’s expulsion.



A stunned Advani who was away in Jodhpur, called up Jaswant Singh, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, and is believed to have said that his position had been rendered untenable.



Singh and BJP vice president Venkaiah Naidu rushed to RSS headquarters in New Delhi to confabulate with RSS’ pointman for BJP - Sangh’s joint general secretary Suresh Soni.



Party sources say that Advani is upset over the fact that just weeks after he had voluntarily offered to resign, Vajpayee had made his position untenable.



Advani had offered to resign on the last day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, but it was Vajpayee who dissuaded him, and now he has made it impossible for Advani to continue, said a top source in the party.



“Advani is hurt by the fact that three weeks ago he could have made a graceful exit”, he said. Even now, the gap between the “clarification” and the resignation was because Advani did not want a delinking of the two issues.



Sources in the RSS say that in a resignation for peace deal, Advani might quit the presidentship of the BJP in the next three or four days in return for a clarification to be issued by former Prime Minister Vajpayee putting in perspective his remarks describing the expulsion of Khurana as “unfortunate.”



RSS sources said that this was the deal being worked out and possibly, at the party’s Chennai meeting itself, Sushma Swaraj might be named the new president of the party. If this happens, it will be Swaraj and not Advani who will lead the party into the Bihar elections. Misunderstandings, grandstanding by top leaders and ego problems have been dogging the BJP for the past several months, especially since Vajpayee demanded the replacement of Narendra Modi as Chief Minister and tacitly backed the demand of a dissident group led by Keshubhai Patel, Advani came down sharply on this move and repeatedly endorsed Modi’s continuance.