BJP to begin search for new chief

Their plight is highlighted by the fact that the party headquarters at 11, Ashoka Road, which was once a beehive of activity, wears a deserted look now. Ever since the process of government formation began, attention has instead shifted to 7, Safdarjung Road, which houses the residence of Prime Minister-designate Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The party’s strategy sessions, held either to discuss the composition and size of the new government or to prepare the much-talked about national agenda with the help of its allies, are now held on aday-to-day basis at Vajpayee’s residence.

Thus, even as the BJP basks in its new-found glory, there is also, ironically enough, a realization amongst a section of the party leadership about the dangers inherent in its freshly-acquired status. “There is too much attention being paid on the task of government formation. But one must guard against the perils of subordinating the organisational structure to the government,” cautioned a senior party leader, adding, “The party is then bound to go the Congress way.”

Lending an urgency to the situation is the fact that the party will soon have to elect a new president. The current incumbent Lal Krishna Advani’s term as the party chief came to end in November last. But with mid-term elections looming large, the national executive had to postpone his successor’s election. It is now certain that Advani will be inducted into the Cabinet, and the party will have to look for a new president in earnest.

The issue is likely to figure high in the party’s nationalexecutive scheduled for April 11-12.

Once the task of government formation is over, party leaders admit, they will have to start devoting their attention on revamping its organisational structure. Towards this end, search has begun for anointing Advani’s successor. Among the names being circulated are those of party general secretary Kushabhau Thakre, former Lok Sabha deputy Speaker Suraj Bhan and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

An RSS pracharak with solid organisational abilities, the 75-year-old Thakre was widely seen as the man most likely to succeed Advani. But in the post-election scenario, the situation has changed dramatically. The names of Shekhawat and Suraj Bhan have also shot into reckoning — the former because of his proximity to Vajpayee and also because of his wheeling-dealing abilities; and the latter because of the realisation that the party had to broadbase its social composition.

A dalit leader, Suraj Bhan lost the just-concluded elections from Ambala (Haryana).