The National Executive Committee meeting of the BJP, held at Panaji, Goa on June 7-9, 2013 proved to be historical. While the political and economic resolutions adopted there were, by and large on expected lines, the decision on the election of the chairman of the Election Campaign Comittee, made it extraordinarily important. The name of Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, Gujarat and Member of BJP Parliamentary Board was making rounds for the last couple of months for this important slot. However, due to opposition from inside as well as some NDA partners had confused the situation.
Let us try to identify these anti-Modi elements and the reasons for their opposition. After his victory hat-trick in Gujarat, Modi’s stature grew to new heights, and he started being seen in the party circle as a prospective leader, cut out for higher responsibilities. The developmental graph of Gujarat under his leadership had already catapulted him to international reputation. He started being rated as a top performer. The day, Rajnath Singh managed to include him in the party Parliamentary Board, internal bickering against Modi became more pronounced. Advani, accepted as the top politician of the party, is known for nourishing the ambition of becoming the prime minister. After he came out of the humiliation caused by pro-Jinnah statement in Pakistan, he started marking time. In his scheme of things, others in the party were not his competitors and so if BJP came out successful in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he would be served premiership on the platter. So he was very much opposed to Modi’s candidature for this top post, because Modi, with a breathtaking track record as an achiever, could sidetrack any other aspirant. Besides Advani, Modi factor caused concern in other BJP seniors like M.M. Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, V. Naidu, Anant Kumar, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Jaitely.
Out of the party fold, other political parties like Congress, Communists, JDU and some others, afraid of Modi’s growing height, started tainting him as a communalist to appease the Muslim voters. He was also abused as the ‘maut ka saudagar’ by none else but Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. As earlier explained in this column, this negative propaganda, popularized Modi. Today no political leader gets more coverage in the media than Narendra Modi. However, the real problem came from yet another prime ministerial prospect, Nitish Kumar whose JDU is an important alliance partner of the NDA. He demanded that the BJP should project an acceptable face otherwise his party will desert the alliance. Earlier he had returned the money, Modi had given to the flood victims of Bihar and refused to share dias with him.
Confronted with these odds, Modi’s candidature appeared difficult. However, some timely changes at different levels proved very helpful to him. Rajnath Singh, a Modi supporter became the BJP President. Modi scoerd continuous third victory in Gujarat as a result of which, he was included in the party PB. Different surveys proved that his popularity graph was going up. Modi further made dent in the party leadership. Then came some significant bielections. The JDU, which had alone held a national rally in Delhi, set up its candidate in the Maharajganj parliamentary constituency. Nitish, for being harsh to Modi, the upper castes, a deciding factor there, finding no BJP candidate, rallied behind the RJD candidate who shocked Nitish’s candidate with a huge margin. On the other hand there were six bielections in Gujarat – two of Lok Sabha and four of assembly. All these six seats were earlier held by the Congress which lost all of them with humiliating margins.
In the backdrop of these feel-good factors, the BJP/NE met in Goa. Reading the writing on the wall, Advani feigned illness to avoid Goa visit. Out of 12 PB members present, only three opposed Modi and others supported him. The RSS, which was already convinced about Modi’s popularity, sent hints about its choice to BJP leaders including Advani. Thus the dice was already cast and only a formal decision was to be made by Rajnath Singh. While making this announcement, he called it as the happiest moment of his life because for the first time he made a decision not only for the BJP but for the nation. Narendra Modi, in his thanks giving 45-minute speech castigated the UPA Govt for different failures including policy paralysis and assured the party president and workers that he will try to capably stand to their expectation. Thunderous applauses, whenever there was any reference to Modi’s name showed the optimism and enthusiasm instilled in the rank and file over his election for this covetous post. In face of this huge pro-Modi storm, his opponents, at least in the BJP will be compelled to lie low. Success in his present assignment will automatically bring him closer to be announced as the NDA prime ministerial candidate.
Note: It was drafted on June 9 evening. This morning(June10), Advani has further confused the situation by resigning from the BJP National Executive, Parliamentary Board and Election Campaign Committee.
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