It is true that Shivraj Singh Chouhan has performed admirably, and that the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister deserves credit for it. But why did lK Advani have to compare him to another BJP stalwart, Narendra ModiIJ
When Jawaharlal Nehru visited Goa after it was liberated from Portuguese rule, he had reportedly remarked, “Ajeeb hain Goa ke log” (strange are the people of Goa). He was referring to the drubbing that the Congress had received in the elections at the hands of a regional outfit, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, although the Congress Government he headed had played a lead role in the then Union Territory’s independence and its inclusion in the Union of India. The people of Goa took the remark in a positive sense and claim to this day that Nehru had referred to their ‘unique identity’. Some 50 years later, the statement can be rephrased to suit senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader lK Advani, whose recent stance and utterances on Mr Narendra Modi can truly be termed “ajeeb”.
Yet another resemblance is in order. In the run-up to the country’s independence, the rank and file of the Congress had rooted for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as the prime ministerial candidate. But Mahatma Gandhi chose Nehru. More than 60 years later, the rank and file of the BJP wants the Gujarat Chief Minister to be projected as the party’s prime ministerial choice in the next lok Sabha election. But Mr Advani, who, in the absence of an active Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has become a mentor and ‘Gandhi-like’ figure for the BJP, appears determined to close the doors on Mr Modi. The only difference is that unlike Mahatma Gandhi, he has not identified his choice. This makes matters worse.
The fact is that the veteran BJP leader is suffering from a crisis of identity. Although he is indisputably the party’s tallest leader active in politics, he is completely out of sync with the changing aspirations of the party cadre. That makes him an oddity because he is surrounded by leaders and party workers who have a different worldview of the country’s emerging political scenario. He may be right on some issues but he is wrong on most. It is strange that a politician of his experience and stature should be so completely misreading the situation. It cannot be that he is incapable of reading it right; it is just that he is adamant.
And so, at a recent party meeting in Madhya Pradesh, Mr Advani took a dig at Mr Modi even as he heaped praise on Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He said that while Mr Modi had made an already developed Gujarat into a better State, the Madhya Pradesh Chief had turned around an under-developed State. His implicit inference was that Mr Chouhan in a quiet way had done a better job than the high-profile Chief Minister of Gujarat. It is true that the State Government of the BJP led by Mr Chouhan has performed admirably and that the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister deserves credit for it. But why did Mr Advani have to drag in Mr Modi into the issue by way of comparisonIJ Clearly, he was not conducting an exercise in comparative appraisal, but seeking to belittle the Chief Minister of Gujarat. If that is a wrong reading of the situation — as harried central senior party leaders have been clarifying — then what does one make of Mr Advani’s other remarkIJ He also said that he saw in Mr Chouhan a ‘Vajpayee-like humility’, again a snide reference to the aggressive manner in which Mr Modi functions.
Mr Advani does not seem to realise that his utterances have not just given the Congress a handle to further ridicule the BJP even as the party is getting ready to face the electorate in some States and later in the lok Sabha poll, but that they have also greatly embarrassed the very people whom he has praised. The gentle and performance-oriented Mr Chouhan had to quickly respond that Mr Modi is his senior and that he is nowhere close to the Gujarat Chief Minister in stature. Party president Rajnath Singh had to also step in and confirm that Mr Modi is the “most popular” leader not just in the BJP but in the country as well. “There cannot be two opinions” on that, he reiterated. Clearly, Mr Advani does not agree.
The fact is that Mr Advani cannot be circumvented easily, even if he appears to be speaking in a voice very different from that of many of his party leaders and cadre. He is increasingly becoming the rallying point for a fistful of anti-Modi forces within the BJP’s central leadership. These are the forces who believe they will be either marginalised or even entirely swept aside if the Gujarat Chief Minister gains centre-stage. They are the ones who have been at the helm of affairs in the party when it faced two defeats in two consecutive lok Sabha elections. The party’s victory in various State Assembly elections in recent months cannot be attributed to them but to the robust leadership in the States, whether it is Gujarat or Goa or Punjab or Bihar. And, if these leaders are falling head over heels in ridiculing Mr Modi and claiming credit for triumphs in the State, they must also be taking the blame for the fiasco in States such as Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Have you heard one leader who has claimed accountability for the defeatsIJ When the India Shining campaign failed to secure victory for the BJP in the 2002 lok Sabha election, Pramod Mahajan had publicly and upfront accepted responsibility. The party does not have a Mahajan anymore.
We are back to the old question: Why is Mr Advani so determined to torpedo Mr Modi’s chances (and ambition)IJ So desperate is the veteran leader that he is reportedly pushing for former president Nitin Gadkari’s candidature to head the party’s central election committee in a bid to shut off the Gujarat Chief Minister’s prospects. This is the same Mr Gadkari who had to quit office only months ago at Mr Advani’s insistence in the wake of allegations of financial irregularities surrounding his business dealings.
The answers to these queries are as complicated as the power-struggle within the BJP. It appears that Mr Advani is finding it difficult to digest the Gujarat Chief Minister’s rising popularity which, if not stunted now, could undermine his influence within the party. If that is true, he is over-reacting. Mr Modi has risen to the top as a protégé of the veteran leader. He would have had to quit in the wake of the 2002 violence but for Mr Advani’s firm support. On many other occasions, Mr Advani has come to the Gujarat Chief Minister’s rescue. Mr Modi knows that, which is why he has worked hard to ensure that Mr Advani keeps winning lok Sabha elections from Gujarat. Putting his stature to advantage, Mr Advani can perhaps stall Mr Modi (at a huge cost to the party). But Mr Advani cannot win from Gujarat if Mr Modi opposes him.
Mr Advani must see the writing on the wall and be proud of the success of his protégé as a father would be of his child’s achievements. If he does not do that, then the party he has helped form, nourish and progress will get written off in the coming elections — as it was in 2004 and 2009.