Have told BJP to look for young chief: Bhagwat

After refraining from making public pronouncements on the BJP so far—maintaining the standard RSS line that “they didn’t believe in interfering it the BJP’s functioning”—Bhagwat admitted that the BJP “was now approaching its mother organisation for advice”. “The RSS has never claimed ownership of the BJP,just as it did not own any other party. It is another matter that it is only the BJP that is now seeking our advice,” Bhagwat added.

Speaking on the contentious issue of leadership in the BJP,Bhagwat didn’t go to the extent of endorsing Nitin Gadkari’s name for the party president’s post,although the Maharashtra BJP chief is believed to have his blessings for the top job. Bhagwat said “there were three to four names that were being discussed to head the party… We have conveyed our expectations of the new leader and if they (BJP leaders) approach us after taking a decision,we will okay it,” he said.

Considered to be frontrunner for the party president’s post,Gadkari spent some time at the BJP headquarters last week,where he echoed Bhagwat’s views on almost every issue while answering questions on a range of subjects from the BJP to India’s future. A group of senior BJP leaders in Delhi,however,view the development as detrimental to the BJP’s health in the long run. In a recent interview,Bhagwat had ruled out the names of four Delhi leaders for the post of BJP chief.

Bhagwat’s statements seem to have hit home,for speaking in Ghaziabad,party chief Rajnath Singh said leaders “who forget their roots become like kati patang”.