Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Worst is hopefully over” (June 13). The editorial very succinctly encapsulates the distressing events of the past week, with the Bharatiya Janata Party lurching between hope and despair.
It is welcome news that BJP veteran and patriarch lal Krishna Advani has relented and withdrawn his resignation, else it would have been disastrous for the party. The news that Mr Advani told senior party leaders that he had nothing personal against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s elevation as the Election Campaign Committee chief, if true, is immensely reassuring.
The only way Mr Advani can regain his lost public stature is by graciously allowing Mr Modi to be the party’s face for the 2014 poll. No doubt some so-called ‘secular’ regional parties with vested interests, like the Janata Dal(United), may part away with the NDA on account of Mr Modi’s elevation, but that should not worry the BJP. The party needs to focus on strengthening itself, formulate its agenda for the electoral battle ahead and strategise to rope in better allies into NDA.