He sets Modi cat among the hawks in party & Parivar

Although Vajpayee said the issue would be taken up at the Mumbai national executive meeting, starting June 22, he may have already triggered a chain reaction.

Those who defended Modi at the Goa national executive — these included party president Venkaiah Naidu, Pramod Mahajan and Arun Jaitley — would find it extremely difficult to rush to his defence again.

Modi, grappling with dissident MLAs who have complained about his ‘‘autocratic’’ style of functioning, is also at loggerheads with RSS outfit Bharatiya Kisan Sangh in Gujarat over the power tariff hike affecting farmers.

The national executive, scheduled to deliberate on the Lok Sabha poll defeat, will now turn the spotlight on Modi given Vajpayee’s acknowledgement that Gujarat was a reason for defeat.

BJP sources said Vajpayee’s suggestion that Advani take charge of the party leadership could also be a hint to Venkaiah Naidu.

Vajpayee, the sources pointed out, has been unhappy with Naidu for a long time.

More so after the poll defeat because it was Naidu who insisted on early elections.

In May last year, Naidu had come out with the dual-leadership theory by describing Vajpayee as Vikas Purush and Advani as Lauh Purush.

In short, putting up a challenge to Vajpayee’s leadership.

Vajpayee too didn’t find the Vikas Purush description very flattering.

‘‘Kitna ghatiya (how cheap)’’, he is said to have remarked.

He then hit hit back with the now famous ‘‘Na tire, na retire. Advaniji ke netratva mein vijay ki aur prasthan.’’ Naidu survived, probably because of Advani.

And by ruling out his retirement in the interview today, Vajpayee has probably signalled that he would like to have another outing. Minus the baggage that weighed him down this time.