L K Advani may be the party boss but A B Vajpayee remains the BJP’s undisputed supremo. This was the message sent out by the BJP’s decision to bring veteran Delhi leader Madan Lal Khurana back into the party less than 48 hours after his expulsion order. The decision came just 90 minutes after Khurana—on Vajpayee’s advice— sent a letter to the party chief expressing regrets for his anti-Advani remarks which, he said, ‘‘harmed the party and caused you mental anguish.’’ And asking Advani to give him a chance to ‘‘serve the country through the medium of the party.’’ A formal meeting of senior leaders, presided over by Advani, acceded to Khurana’s request with alacrity. Pramod Mahajan, who played a key role in the compromise, said a letter was being sent to Khurana ‘‘acknowledging receipt of his letter.informing him of the decision to restore his primary membership.’’ Although Khurana’s sorry officially facilitated his re-entry, the real reason was the need to appease Vajpayee who sparked off the ‘‘Khurana crisis’’ by criticising the BJP leadership’s decision to expel him. Mahajan admitted as much. ‘‘Vajpayee is our supreme leader (‘‘sarvoch neta’’) and we shall always honour his wishes,’’ he said. To another question, he said, ‘‘Party ke har gati vidhi par Vajpayeeji ka asar hai,’’ (Vajpayee influences every decision in the party.) Advani loyalists claimed that Khurana’s return spelled a victory for the BJP chief for the expulsion was revoked only after he expressed regret and he was back only as a primary member, not in the national executive. Asked whether BJP leaders could hit out and come back just by saying sorry, Mahajan said: ‘‘Aap ki jo chinta hai, hum sabki wohi chinta hai,’’ (we share your concerns on that score.) The crisis defused, the national executive will be held in Chennai from September 16 to 18.
