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Journalism of Courage
Rajnath Singh has taken over as the president of the BJP, not because he was the most acceptable of the candidates within the party, but because he was the least unacceptable.
The RSS8217;s favourites were well known 8212; Murli Manohar Joshi, Bal Apte and Rajnath Singh in that order 8212; even as Sangh leaders urged the BJP to evolve a consensus. The BJP8217;s Top Two and its GenNext opted for Rajnath Singh. As the baton was passed on to him, his first words indicated the tight rope walk that he would have to do: before he formally took over, he had expressed a commitment to the party8217;s 8220;ideology8221; 8212; and those words would have gladdened the hearts of the Sangh. On Monday, he made it clear that the decisions would be made 8220;collectively8221; 8212; in other words, by the Sangh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani, and his younger colleagues.
While Rajnath Singh was not the Sangh8217;s first choice, he is also not identified as Vajpayee8217;s man or Advani8217;s chief lieutenant like Venkaiah Naidu, although he was among the few who had gone to receive Advani at the airport when he returned from Pakistan after making his controversial statements. This, when his own protegees had given the BJP president the cold shoulder. He is also known to be tactful. As UP chief minister, Rajnath Singh sacked the brother of a senior Opposition leader from government service. When the Opposition complained about this, he expressed his helplessness, indicating that he was only following orders from the RSS. All this had stood Rajnath in good stead. His humble observations in the last two days and his low profile in Delhi during the last ten years, show that he is cast in the mould of the archetypal Congress leader.
Rajnath Singh8217;s selection has sent out a clear message to the BJP leadership and its rank and file that one cannot survive in the party without the Sangh8217;s backing. The umbilical cord between the two remains unsevered. The debate, if any, can be on the extent of the Sangh8217;s interference in party affairs and, at the moment, even that is not on the cards. The new president is unlikely to make the mistake that Advani had made. By ignoring the Sangh when he decided to become the party president for the third time in 2004, Advani found himself in slippery territory 8212; and then came the Jinnah remarks, which proved the last straw. But even Advani has had to make his peace with the Sangh, as evident from his statements in Mumbai. Although he has not gone back on his 8216;Jinnah is secular8217; statement 8212; which helped moderate his image as nothing else did, and could make him acceptable to the allies in the days ahead 8212; the Jinnah chapter appears closed. Advani is unlikely to antagonise the Sangh in the months to come, since he wants to continue as the Leader of the Opposition, and seems to have his eyes set on 2009.
Rajnath Singh8217;s problems will not come from the Sangh, Advani or even Vajpayee. However, Vajpayee8217;s remarks on BJP8217;s new 8216;jodi number one8217; of Advani and Mahajan 8212; may lead to a new axis in the party, with Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley, Narendra Modi, on the one side, and Pramod Mahajan, on the other. Rajnath Singh may find himself caught in the crossfire.
Rajnath8217;s problems are also likely to come from the ambitions of other BJP leaders, closer to him in age. The conflict is inherent in the situation. Theoretically, it can be argued that Rajnath does not pose a threat to the others and that a good party president need not be a prime ministerial candidate. The Sangh may even accept Arun Jaitley or Sushma Swaraj or Pramod Mahajan as prime ministerial possibles, but not as the head of the party. After all, L.K. Advani was the BJP president when he announced Vajpayee as the party8217;s choice for prime minister. However, that is not the way things work out in practical politics. BJP8217;s GenNext have their eyes on 2009, and they would not want Rajnath Singh to settle down, in case he emerges as a prime ministerial candidate as and when a BJP-led government becomes a possibility. After all, he emerged as the most acceptable choice for party head, is from the country8217;s largest state, has had considerable organisational and administrative experience 8212; as state chief, UP chief minister and a central minister 8212; and so far enjoys an unsullied image.
There is then the UP angle. Rajnath will have to contend with Kalyan Singh, despite the temporary truce between the two, and with Murli Manohar Joshi, denied the top position. The BJP8217;s performance in the 2007 elections will also have a bearing on his prospects, with the battlelines getting drawn between the SP and the BSP.
The new BJP president certainly has his task cut out for him. He needs to restore the party8217;s eroding credibility, and enthuse its rank and file. He made a good start with his 8216;Bharat Mata, Janata and Annadata8217; slogan, choosing issues calculated to unify, rather than divide. His elevation is symbolic of the realisation among the main power centres 8212; the Sangh and Advani and Vajpayee 8212; that none of them by themselves has the clout to shape the party completely. Yet, this is only part of the story. The real challenge for Rajnath would be to unify a fractured party, manage the contradictions between it and the Sangh, and consolidate his own position in the party beyond 2007.
