Jury out on Advani
RADHIKA RAMASESHAN
New Delhi, Dec. 18:
They believe that as long as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani are around, there can be no third presiding deity in the party despite the RSS’s exertions.
They cite how Murli Manohar Joshi, K. Jana Krishnamurthy and Rajnath Singh had to pay a price for ignoring or side-stepping the duo.
Today, when Advani redeemed his assurance to the Sangh of quitting as leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, his standing in the parivar ensured he was rehabilitated with a position whose mandate is not fully understood by anyone in the BJP. Those who know him emphasise he will not treat it as a “good service award”.
When Advani pushed the BJP’s electoral tally from 85 in 1989 to 120 in 1991, underlining its primacy as the polity’s second pole, he bucked the trends of Indian politics: his caste was unknown and he admitted to not being a practising Hindu.
Yet his “Ram rath” obliterated caste and gender divisions in its trail. He was probably the first politician to successfully use religion as a mass mobiliser.
When it was time to take a serious shot at power before the 1996 elections, however, the Sangh, tutored by the late Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, figured out that the BJP would have to pick allies to reach majority. It decided Advani was not the man for the mission. The Sangh chose and packaged Vajpayee as the “moderate” face of a non-Congress alliance. Vajpayee eluded political labels with his ability to avoid taking positions on issues. Advani, seen as “a strident communalist”, gracefully accepted the decision.
Vajpayee did not reciprocate in kind: his thanksgiving speech did not mention Advani’s contribution to the BJP’s rise.
Vajpayee’s heart was never in the organisation — he was most comfortable in public shows and Parliament — but Advani straddled the space from the party apparatus to the legislative wing with ease. He had a rapport with the Sangh while Vajpayee was said to be a trifle dismissive of the men in khaki shorts except when it suited him politically.
That was not the only reason for Advani’s organisational prowess: as a head-hunter, he built a team that was the envy of other parties. He nurtured the talents of Pramod Mahajan, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, K.N. Govindacharya, Narendra Modi, Uma Bharti and others.
The jury is still out on whether his ambition to become Prime Minister was fanned by his confidants or whether it was self-generated. Whatever the truth, it took a toll on his politics.
The writer says Advani admitted to not being a practising Hindu. If I am not mistaken, Advani had said that he is not a ritualistic Hindu. This cannot be construed as not being a "practising Hindu". I think Advani also talked about his Sufi approach. Read in context, Advani only exclaimed that he is imbued with the Advaitic vision. This cannot be taken as not being a practising Hindu.
RADHIKA RAMASESHAN
New Delhi, Dec. 18:
They believe that as long as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani are around, there can be no third presiding deity in the party despite the RSS’s exertions.
They cite how Murli Manohar Joshi, K. Jana Krishnamurthy and Rajnath Singh had to pay a price for ignoring or side-stepping the duo.
Today, when Advani redeemed his assurance to the Sangh of quitting as leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, his standing in the parivar ensured he was rehabilitated with a position whose mandate is not fully understood by anyone in the BJP. Those who know him emphasise he will not treat it as a “good service award”.
When Advani pushed the BJP’s electoral tally from 85 in 1989 to 120 in 1991, underlining its primacy as the polity’s second pole, he bucked the trends of Indian politics: his caste was unknown and he admitted to not being a practising Hindu.
Yet his “Ram rath” obliterated caste and gender divisions in its trail. He was probably the first politician to successfully use religion as a mass mobiliser.
When it was time to take a serious shot at power before the 1996 elections, however, the Sangh, tutored by the late Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, figured out that the BJP would have to pick allies to reach majority. It decided Advani was not the man for the mission. The Sangh chose and packaged Vajpayee as the “moderate” face of a non-Congress alliance. Vajpayee eluded political labels with his ability to avoid taking positions on issues. Advani, seen as “a strident communalist”, gracefully accepted the decision.
Vajpayee did not reciprocate in kind: his thanksgiving speech did not mention Advani’s contribution to the BJP’s rise.
Vajpayee’s heart was never in the organisation — he was most comfortable in public shows and Parliament — but Advani straddled the space from the party apparatus to the legislative wing with ease. He had a rapport with the Sangh while Vajpayee was said to be a trifle dismissive of the men in khaki shorts except when it suited him politically.
That was not the only reason for Advani’s organisational prowess: as a head-hunter, he built a team that was the envy of other parties. He nurtured the talents of Pramod Mahajan, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, K.N. Govindacharya, Narendra Modi, Uma Bharti and others.
The jury is still out on whether his ambition to become Prime Minister was fanned by his confidants or whether it was self-generated. Whatever the truth, it took a toll on his politics.
The writer says Advani admitted to not being a practising Hindu. If I am not mistaken, Advani had said that he is not a ritualistic Hindu. This cannot be construed as not being a "practising Hindu". I think Advani also talked about his Sufi approach. Read in context, Advani only exclaimed that he is imbued with the Advaitic vision. This cannot be taken as not being a practising Hindu.
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