BJP makes its pick: ‘Justice calls for Modi’

Modi thanked Rajnath’s “large-heartedness”. “I am grateful to Rajnath Singh for reposing such faith in me. These things do not come from position (of party presidentship) but flow from one’s heart. He has demonstrated large-heartedness. The BJP is working under an able leadership (Rajnath)… We will fulfill the unfinished dreams of Atalji under the leadership of Rajnathji,” Modi said in his speech to party workers.

Neither mentioned Advani at the meet,nor was there any mention of the separate election management committee that he had been seeking. Moreover,Rajnath departed from the BJP’s conventional protocol of party presidents making final speeches at the National Executive,and allowed Modi to have the last word at the party workers’ convention.

At the National Executive though,Rajnath condemned the protests outside Advani’s Delhi residence by Modi “supporters” and said that the decision to appoint the CM as the campaign panel head had the support of all leaders.

While Rajnath did not elaborate on the scope and import of this panel,BJP parliamentary board members confided that its members would be selected by Modi.

Though the BJP refrained from declaring its prime ministerial candidate,party leaders asserted that there was no confusion on the matter now. “After this decision,there is no ambiguity in our minds as to under whose leadership we are going to contest the next Lok Sabha elections,” party general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan told The Indian Express.

Rajnath told the media that his Modi move had been prompted by the elections,which the BJP had taken up as a major challenge.

Their new-found camaraderie was on display at the party workers’ conference. “Well,in a way,it is the end of the Vajpayee-Advani era. It is the beginning of a new era as per a script crafted by the RSS,” summed up one influential party functionary.

Advani didn’t find a mention in the speech of Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley either,though he did indicate that the decision regarding Modi was fraught with internal challenges. He praised it as reflective of Rajnath’s decisiveness and said it had the potential to shape the direction of the country’s politics. “A leadership is defined by its ability to take decisions because many a times these are very difficult decisions,” Jaitley praised Rajnath before workers.

Jaitley’s Lok Sabha counterpart Sushma Swaraj could not make it to the event as she had to leave for Delhi early.

Drawing parallels with the US system of selection of presidential hopefuls,Jaitley sought to suggest that Modi had won the BJP’s primaries in the run-up to the electoral battle.

“If we had projected him as a prime ministerial candidate,that would have been much better. But it is still better than the confusion earlier,” said a BJP vice-president.

The decision to go ahead with the announcement of Modi’s name came after protracted discussions at the top,that continued till late Saturday night given Advani’s demand for a parallel committee. While Rajnath had the backing of RSS point person Suresh Soni to the extent of risking Advani’s displeasure,he had to get other leaders on board. It was in the middle of the night on Saturday that suddenly all senior party leaders and chief ministers started calling on Modi and Rajnath one by one,indicating that the party had taken the call to go ahead with the move.

While Rajnath rang up Advani all three days of the National Executive,from which he stayed away citing ill-health,the BJP president was learnt to have not raised the issue of Modi’s elevation at all,making it clear it was beyond discussion. He restricted his phone calls to only enquiring about the senior leader’s health.

Modi,for his part,tweeted that he had rung up Advani after the announcement of his name and taken his blessings.

Rubbing salt in Advani’s wounds,the Gujarat CM went so far as to bring up the Goa connection of 2002 in his speech,though skipping the crucial role played by Advani in it.

“Goa has got a special place in my life. Newspapers have commented that it has been lucky for me. It was in this Goa that I got the permission to serve Gujarat in 2002. Gujarat is now competing with China (on economic growth). I reckon,whenever I get blessings from Goa,I have attained new heights. I hope the responsibility bestowed upon me by the party president will lead to a similar feat,” Modi told party workers.