Advani refuses to budge

Indian opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani leaves Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence following a meeting, in New Delhi yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

"I am thankful to my party colleagues, including Mr Vajpayee, who wanted me to reconsider my decision to resign from the post. My decision stays", said Advani, after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The meeting was to brief the Prime Minister on his visit to Pakistan that raised the hackles of the Sangh Parivar over his description of Paksistan's founder leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah as secular.

Advani had on Tuesday also made it clear that he would not take back his resignation.

Top leaders of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party was meeting last evening to consider the situation that has thrown the party in a turmoil.

The meeting of central office-bearers and parliamentary board of BJP is likely to go through the mandatory request to Advani to review his resignation.

As the entire political drama triggered by Advani's resignation was played out throughout the day on Tuesday, it became increasingly clear that he has been virtually isolated in the party over his reappraisal of Jinnah, the proponent of the two-nation theory, and not many leaders, including some of his own ardent supporters in BJP, came on record to his defence.

The only silver lining in the gathering clouds over Advani's continuance as party chief was the backing he got from former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and key allies of BJP in the National Democratic Alliance spearheaded by the party.

Interestingly, there were several voices of dissent which went public against Advani's remarks made in Karachi last week. Senior BJP leader and former External Affairs and Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who is from a socialist and not RSS background, termed Advani's utterances as "unnecessary and avoidable" and demanded a complete overhaul of the party organization.

Fiery BJP leader Uma Bharti also went on record to say that Advani's views on Jinnah and Babri Masjid demolition were debatable although she did criticize the vitriolic attack mounted by VHP on the former Deputy Prime Minister.

By contrast, there was virtually no voice of support within the party which went public for Advani in the lower run of BJP leadership except that of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma who is however a party lightweight.

Having quit as party chief, it now remains to be whether Advani also steps down as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.

With indications that Advani unlikely to retrace his step, there is speculation as to who will succeed him as party President.

Venkaiah Naidu is likely to officiate as the interim President while the names of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Rajnath Singh, former party chief Murli Manohar Joshi, and Sushma Swaraj are doing the rounds in party circles to step into Advani's shoes.

The scale at present seems to be tilted in favour of Rajnath Singh, who is now one of the party general secretaries, given that he is non-controversial, an articulate speaker, belongs to Thakur caste, could also fit in BJP's bid to woo back its support base among the upper castes, party sources said.