New Delhi, August 30: The search for a GenNext leader to replace L.K. Advani in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in keeping with the ‘youth’ prescription of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is spread far and wide.
Political circles are abuzz with the names of Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Ananth Kumar and M. Venkaiah Naidu.
But sources in both the BJP and the RSS claim that these names have been projected by the media – not the party itself.
“The BJP is in an ‘after Nehru who?’ situation,” said a top leader who did not want to be identified.
“Even a dark horse may emerge and take over the party’s mantle. And who knows, he may turn out to be better than the others.” The party’s national general secretary Vinay Katiyar was more categorical. He said there were several leaders across the country who could be considered for the top post.
“Many of our regional leaders have served at the national level in the past,” said Katiyar.
“Gujarat CM Narendra Modi was a national general secretary. Former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje has also been a central leader.” Katiyar added: “Incumbent chief ministers such as Madhya Pradesh’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chhattisgarh’s Raman Singh, as well as former Union ministers like Jual Ram from Orissa are capable people. They all have a mass following.
When the leadership issue arises, all their names will surface.” His thoughts were echoed by youth leader and MP Anurag Singh Thakur, who also felt that the succession race could include regional leaders.
“The so-called shortlist of four people has been floated by the media. It hasn’t come from the BJP. We cannot say that state leaders or other leaders are not being considered,” Thakur said.
The RSS has been extremely guarded over the succession issue. One stream of thought in the Sangh is that the next leader should not be a charismatic one.
They instead want a consensus builder who works with a team for running the party administration and taking decisions rather than working entirely on his own.
An RSS functionary said the BJP would not have been in this position (of searching for a leader) if second, third and fourth level leaders had been groomed in the past.
“They let Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani dominate for 25 years. Now, we think the way ahead is to be like the communists, who let the party – rather than one individual – decide on larger issues,” he said.
This does not bode well for someone like Modi, whose entire appeal is based on his charisma. The RSS functionary felt that moving the Gujarat CM to the centre would be counter- productive at all levels.
“It will have an adverse effect on his state. And the party will again become personality-centric. We don’t want this to happen. Instead, leaders like Bhagat Singh Koshiyari or B.C. Khanduri can be considered,” he said.
The need of the hour, from the RSS perspective, is a person who can deal with the “dominant and arrogant” seniors in the party, but is also a team player who can take everyone along.
“It has to be someone who can coordinate at the central level, work with different affiliates and have a personality that gels well with everyone,” said a party insider. “He should not become the head of another group inside the party. The search is on for such a person.”
–Agencies