The rise of Bal Apte

BJP vice-president Bal Apte is a busy man these days. Apart from making him the head of a committee to look into the three letters (written by Jaswant Singh,Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie,demanding accountability in the party),party president Rajnath Singh has also put him in charge of a three-member panel to study the “reasons for the party’s defeat in the elections”. Apte will also head the membership drive to be undertaken by the party shortly. Last week,Apte,who has an ABVP background,held a meeting of senior party leaders who were also with the ABVP — like V Satish (deputy to the general secretary,organisation,Ram Lal),P Muralidhar Rao (advisor to Rajnath Singh) and P Chandrashekhar (organising secretary for Assam and north-eastern states). Viewing the organisational overhaul with interest,Apte is said to be lobbying hard for the party’s top job when Rajnath vacates the post later this year.