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BJP : Setback for Advani’s prime-ministerial ambitions |
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New BJP president Rajnath Singh has made it clear that nobody has been endorsed by the party yet as its prime-ministerial candidate during the next Lok Sabha elections. Asked specifically by a newsperson in New Delhi on February 2 whether the BJP would project L.K. Advani as its prime-ministerial candidate for the 2009 general elections, he said, “Let the elections come, then we shall see.”
Asked whether there was lack of consensus in the organization over declaring Advani as BJP’s prime-ministerial candidate, Singh reiterated, “It’s a hypothetical question. There’s no talk of elections at this juncture.”
The BJP till the last general elections had always considered Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its prime-ministerial candidate, even when the party was in the Opposition. Also, Advani has made it clear that unlike Vajpayee, he has not decided to retire from electoral politics and was not against being projected as the party’s prime-ministerial candidate.
However, the BJP president ruled out removing either Advani or Jaswant Singh as the Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively.
Observers say the RSS remains suspicious of Advani even after his resignation as party chief for his “ideological deviations” that came to the fore over the Jinnah issue. That Advani subsequently chose to reiterate his position on Jinnah has not gone down well with the Sangh. With Jaswant Singh following Advani’s footsteps to Jinnah’s mausoleum in Karachi, a whisper campaign has begun seeking the ouster of both from the powerful posts they hold. Despite Rajnath Singh’s assurances, the two may find it difficult to hang on till 2009 if they do not make peace with the RSS.
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