|
BJP next president : RSS and Vajpayee to play key role |
 |
The RSS has begun consultations with Sangh Parivar outfits to identify the next BJP president after L.K. Advani steps down at the end of the month. The other outfits of the Sangh Parivar including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) are in favour of a party president who would adhere to Sangh ideology, particularly Hindutva.
The RSS is of the opinion that during the past few years, there had been dilution of the Sangh ideology in the BJP. Sources, however, disclosed that despite the RSS intervention, former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will have a “major say” in deciding the new chief of he party. The new party president will be decided after the end of he Winter Session of Parliament on December 23, sources said.
At its Dharmasansad, the VHP launched a scathing attack on the BJP for digressing from its ideological plank and the way it had been managing its “internal affairs.” Though Advani was pushing for Venkaiah Naidu’s candidature for the post of party president, the VHP and other Sangh leaders were vehemently against the move. The VHP threatened to launch a new political outfit if BJP “did not return to the Ram Janmabhoomi issue.”
While a section of the VHP leaders had accused Advani of “abandoning the movement for vested interests,” it also pointed a finger at Naidu for “keeping the issue on the backburner.” Moreover, with Naidu at the “helm of affairs, it would be Advani controlling the organisation,” some VHP leaders had claimed.
The RSS would not like to overrule Vajpayee’s decision and the “candidate he supports will bag the crown,” a senior BJP functionary disclosed.
Against this background, the blessing of the “Nyaya Yatra” led by BJP general secretary Rajnath Singh by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Varanasi on Wednesday last was considered significant by a section of party leaders. Although there are some who would like to defer the selection of a new party president to replace Advani, almost all agree that the process cannot be put off by more than a couple of days or a few weeks past December.
It appears that a list of two or three names may be sent to the RSS, which could then select one of the names. The other option would be for the BJP to send just one name, but that would certainly not be done without prior consultation with the RSS.
The BJP’s agitation is an attempt to revive its fortunes in the State that at one time delivered more than 50 MPs to it. With elections due in Uttar Pradesh in 2007, the party has one year to work out a strategy to regain its support base. It is for this reason that some partymen believe that it would like to project a leader from this state as its next party president.
Rajnath Singh’s name is being mentioned along with that of former Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi. But then a surprise cannot be ruled out. After all, for the last several years, Jaswant Singh has been consistently projected as the party’s seniormost leader after Vajpayee and Advani.
BJP ruled states to adopt VAT
Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states at their one-day meeting in New Delhi on Monday, Dec. 12, have decided to join the value added tax (VAT) regime. The Chief Ministers of five BJP-ruled states - Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand - attended the meeting.
On the issue of illegal migrants coming into the country, the BJP ruled states decided to work out a system of detection and deportation. The party criticised the Centre’s handling of Naxalite violence and charged the Manmohan Singh Government with not taking the issue seriously.
|
