BJP virtually retires Vajpayee, Advani, Joshi

NEW DELHI: Making the generational shift of its leadership, official, the Bharatiya Janata Party dropped veteran leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi from its Parliamentary Board, the party’s highest decision-making body, on Tuesday, 26 August. The three veterans, leading lights of the party for nearly four decades, were dropped from its Central Election Committee too.

However, in an apparent attempt to placate the veterans and fend off accusations of treating the party old guard shabbily, the BJP announced that the trio that has occupied the top rung of its leadership since the formation of the party in 1980, would now be accommodated in a new committee formed by BJP president Amit Shah- the Margdarshak Mandal or group of mentors. This new five-member guidance panel, also comprises Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. BJP media managers said the presence of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister on the panel proved it was a “high-powered” body, but conceded it was powerless.

The role of the panel- which is not mentioned in the party constitution- is not yet clear. A senior BJP leader said it would have advisory status, with no decision-making powers.

Vajpayee has been unwell, and not been active in politics for several years. Advani, a former party president, fell out of favour with the new leadership after trying unsuccessfully to stall Modi’s rise by opposing the move to declare him its prime ministerial candidate. Joshi, also a former BJP president, has never hidden his disapproval of Modi’s leadership style.

The Indian Express reports that the BJP’s spectacular victory in the April-May elections greatly diminished Advani’s relevance in the party. Signals of his slide were strong and frequent: he was denied the post of Speaker, not allowed to occupy the seat next to the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha, and his nameplate was removed from his office in Parliament House.

But party leaders said both Advani and Joshi had been consulted before the new Parliamentary Board was set up.

“They will show the way,” spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said. He declined to comment on who would chair the Margdarshak Mandal, or on the role it would play.

The age of Advani and Joshi has been cited as the reason for keeping them out. Advani is 86; Joshi 80. Modi did not induct anyone over 75 while choosing his council of ministers.

However, youth alone is clearly not what Amit Shah is looking for. Varun Gandhi, 34, was shown the door when Shah reconstituted his team earlier this month. Party leaders said he had been punished for showing a tendency to act independently.

Shah has inducted three-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and party general secretary J P Nadda as new members in the 12-member Parliamentary Board. The induction of Chouhan, and the retention of Ananth Kumar, both of whom are considered close to Advani, reportedly happened on the recommendation of the party patriarch, a BJP leader said.

The Parliamentary Board chaired by Shah now has Modi, Rajnath, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, M Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, Ananth Kumar, Thawarchand Gehlot, Chouhan, Nadda and Ramlal as its members.

Shah has also reshuffled the Central Election Committee, from which he has dropped the senior leader from Uttar Pradesh, Vinay Katiyar. The CEC has the 12 members of the Parliamentary Board, and its strength has been pruned from 18 to 15. Besides the BJP Mahila Morcha president Vijaya Rahatkar (ex-officio), tribal leader Jual Oram, and Shahnawaz Hussain are part of the CEC.

Reacting to the Congress charge that the BJP had relegated its seniors to an “old-peoples’ home,” Mr. Hussain, BJP spokesman, said, “Let the Congress bother about its seniors.”

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