Sangh in no mood to let Advani stay on

Several senior BJP leaders as well as the rank and file are mystified by the‘‘decision’’ taken by party general secretaries — at a meeting presided by Advani on November 4 — not to take up the leadership question till at least January 2006, sources said.

The decision itself is believed to have been prompted by queries from persons such as deputy leader of the Lok Sabha V.K. Malhotra on the time-table for the selection of the new president. These leaders felt that in order for a new president to take over at Mumbai, the process of election/selection should begin in the next few days.

But the general secretaries decided not to take up the ‘‘leadership’’ question in the coming two months, and tackle it only early next year. Their reasoning was that the party should concentrate on the Volcker Report and the Bihar elections, both of which are likely to dominate the Winter Session of Parliament beginning November 23.

Advani’s supporters, sources said, also want him to preside over the Mumbai Adhiveshan, which marks the culmination of the BJP’s silver jubilee celebrations, in his ‘‘full glory’’ and not as a lameduck president. The focus of the celebrations will get ‘‘derailed’’ if the leadership change dominates media coverage of the event, they feel. But the RSS and sections of the BJP refuse to buy these arguments, and see it as a backdoor effort to prolong Advani’s tenure and then anoint a ‘rubber stamp’ president sometime next year.

Since Advani announced his decision to ‘‘demit office’’ at the Chennai national executive in September, the party had ample time to scout around for a successor. The Bihar elections were just an ‘‘excuse’’, a Parivar insider said, adding: ‘‘Whether we do well or not in Bihar, why should it make a difference to Advani’s decision to step down?’’ The argument that the media would focus on the leadership change rather than on the resolutions to be adopted at Mumbai is equally specious, Sangh sources said. In fact, in the absence of a new leader, the media at Mumbai would be all the more preoccupied in speculating who will take over and when.

Pointing out that the biggest casualty in case of a postponement would be Advani himself, an insider said: ‘‘Advani wants a graceful exit. But the longer he stays on as president, the less graceful will his exit be.’’

Although RSS officially keeps disclaiming any interest in the issue, the Nagpur elders are keen that instead of postponing the inevitable, the BJP leadership — in consultation with the RSS — ought to start the process of shortlisting the names of Advani’s successor over the next few days and reach a decision ahead of the Mumbai conclave, party sources said.