New Delhi: L K Advani's vacation of the post
as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha marks the end of an
era in BJP which he had galvanised from being a marginal
player to the portals of power at the Centre in the 90s.
His elevation as Chairman of BJP Parliamentary Party
paves the way for a generational change that may have to
confront numerous challenges. 57-year-old Sushma Swaraj has
taken over from Advani as Leader of Opposition.
The 'Hinduvta' face of BJP, 83-year-old Advani has won
respect from the rank and file of the party as a hardliner
and has been instrumental in taking the party strength in the
Lok Sabha from just two in 1984 to an impressive 182 in 1999.
Known as the 'iron man', Advani's one wish to become the
Prime Minister remains unfulfilled. Although BJP tasted power
in 1998 and 1999, he had to wait in the wings of Atal Bihari
Vajpayee.
It was only this year's elections that BJP projected him
as its PM candidate but the party's poor showing dashed all
hopes of his getting another chance.
Advani had catapulted the BJP into the national stage
with his Hindu nationalist pitch in the 1990s when he emerged
as the leader of the Ayodhya movement.
For half-a-decade, Advani played second fiddle to
Vajpayee in the party and also as Deputy Prime Minister in the
NDA government.
In fact, the 'tallest' leader of BJP also had a knack of
getting into controversies. His fall from grace with the Sangh
Parivar began after NDA lost power in 2004 and more so after
his visit to Pakistan in 2005 when he described Pakistan's
founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah as a "secular" leader.
Advani was forced to resign as BJP President on December
31, 2005 over his remarks on Jinnah.
A five-time Lok Sabha member, Advani had way back in
1995 projected Vajpayee as the party's Prime Ministerial
candidate, although he had full control of the organisation at
that time.
He had then told Vajpayee, as also party officials, that
only Vajpayee was best suited for taking the party's cause
forward. A year later BJP came to power for the first time but
the government lasted for just 13 days.
In 2005, Vajpayee returned Advani's compliment, calling
him 'Ram'. This was interpreted as virtually anointing Advani
as his successor.
This was followed by Advani's projection as the BJP's
prime ministerial candidate, even though elections were then
almost a year away.
In the 1990s, Advani ushered in a new form of campaigning
by undertaking a series of journeys across the country on a
mini-bus that he called 'Rath' (chariot).
His first such journey - the Somnath-Ayodhdya Rath yatra
- changed the course of politics of the country as it whipped
up Hindu nationalist sentiments, contributing to the fall of V
P Singh Government.
Advani has undertaken about half-a-dozen such yatras
since the one to Ayodhya in the 90's and at least one of them
was to propagate the good governance provided by the erstwhile
NDA government.
An able organiser, Advani has been telling his followers
to have the "killer instinct" so as to emerge at the top of
the situation.
It's probably this killer instinct, along with the appeal
of Vajpayee, which led to the end of the single-party
dominance of the Congress.
The BJP leader has never been apologetic about his
links with the RSS and, in fact, boasts of his association
with the organisation, the controversy over the issue of dual
membership notwithstanding.
Advani came under attack last month following tabling in
Parliament of the Liberhan Commission report on the demolition
of Babri Masjid, indicting him and 67 others.
After this year's poll debacle, the veteran BJP leader
was confronted with unprecedented challenge from within the
party with senior leaders like Jaswant Singh, Murli Manohar
Joshi, Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha training their guns at
him.
His favouring Swaraj to succeed him in the Lok Sabha
and appointing Arun Jaitley as Leader of the Opposition in the
Rajya Sabha also drew flak from a section of the party.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 19, 2009, 10:43