Hurt and angry, BJP icon Advani chooses Bihar defeat to slam Modi and now runs risk of flaming out

New Delhi: A day before the Delhi election results were to be announced, BJP patriarch LK Advani called his political protégé external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and union health minister Harshvardhan to his residence. He was visibly upset.

Advani told Sushma Swaraj and Harshvardhan that he did not campaign in this election as he was treated like a persona non-grata by the party leadership. “Nobody asked me to campaign” he is believed to have told the visiting leaders. But what really shocked Harshvardhan was the veteran leader’s insistence that he would write a blog or open letter after the results to point out indiscretions of the party leadership in the Delhi election. Harshvardhan begged Advani to give up the idea as his letter would wreck more than just the party’s image.

Though Advani did not blog or write a letter, he has been nursing his desire to speak out about the party leadership’s autocratic style of functioning. The BJP’s humiliating defeat in the Bihar assembly election re-kindled Advani’s desire to give vent to his expression and join hands with the likes of Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha and Shanta Kumar - once his bête noire.

Insiders in the BJP admit that the party leadership was privy to a move by the veterans to cause an embarrassment by casting doubt on ability of the party leadership. Given Advani’s sound understanding of the dynamics within the Sangh Parivar and his own standing, his fulmination against Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo and their style of functioning could not be easily dismissed as inconsequential.

This is the precise reason why Amit Shah called on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat a day after the election results and explained him the circumstances. In the meantime, RSS interlocutor with the BJP Krishna Gopal also met union home minister Rajnath Singh to douse the flame and contain the situation.

But Advani’s own strategic sense guided him not to lose the moment and strike at the most vulnerable time against Modi’s hegemonic dominance in the party. Modi seemed to be confronting a situation of siege within a section of BJP leaders; even allies have risen in revolt against him after the Bihar elections. Shatrughan Sinha, Chandan Mitra or Bhola Singh may seem inconsequential yet their soundbites against the ledership find a coherent chorus of protest.

There is little doubt that Advani has chosen the weakest moment to strike at the party leadership. In the post Bihar election setting, Nitish Kumar has emerged as powerful pivot around whom anti-Modi forces could converge. In symbolic terms, Nitish Kumar has impeccable credentials and adequate political guile to challenge Modi should he get the blessings of anti-Modi forces from within the Sangh Parivar. The letter by BJP veterans could be seen as precursor to a rebellion in the making within the BJP.

In politics , a carefully crafted script goes haywire more often than not. Notwithstanding Advani’s astute sense of timing and his ability as political strategist, the veteran party leader seemed to be oblivious of the fact that he had not only lost his charm among people over the year but also eroded his credibility among the cadres of the RSS-BJP. In such a situation, Advani is unlikely to get sympathy either from younger generation of the BJP leaders or among veterans of the Sangh Parivar. He may emerge as a rallying point for sulking leaders who have fallen by the wayside following the emergence of Modi as the undisputed leader in the BJP.

That Advani is unlikely to get sympathy from the RSS is evident from the manner in which he is being consistently ignored by the Sangh Parivar on all critical issues. This is the precise reason why he was asked by BJP general secretary (organization) either to submit his blogs for scrutiny or discontinue with it altogether. Advani chose the latter and stopped writing blogs. His joint statement on Tuesday could be seen as frustration over denial of his right for free expression.

Ironically enough, the veteran leader credited with taking the BJP to a position of power is now left with few sympathisers within the Sangh Parivar. Yet Advani’s statement does have the potential of strengthening the perception against Modi-Shah combination and giving a fillip to mobilization of political forces against the anti-Modi axis. Advani may or may not emerge in the role of a mentor if such a situation arises. But he has definitely pushed himself to the verge of losing his iconic status within the Sangh Parivar.