Advani to meet RSS leaders in Nagpur today

Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani will be rushing to Nagpur on Wednesday morning where party president Nitin Gadkari will join him for urgent consultations with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Sources suggested that the RSS was unhappy with Mr. Advani's announcement of a ‘yatra' between now and the start of the winter session of Parliament as it was being seen as a move to once again project him as the party's prime ministerial candidate for the next general election.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Chief Mohan Bhagwat

The direct intervention by the RSS is expected to ensure that Mr. Advani makes a public announcement to the effect that he is not and will not be the party's prime ministerial hopeful. A public statement to this effect may be made by Mr. Advani at the party's national executive committee meeting here scheduled tentatively on September 30 and October 1.

After the 2009 general election, it was the RSS that had ensured a transition of power to the next generation. Mr. Advani was persuaded to resign from his position as the Leader of Opposition and Sushma Swaraj was given that place with Arun Jaitley as her counterpart in the Rajya Sabha. Simultaneously, the reins of the party were given to Mr. Gadkari.

It was on September 8 that Mr. Advani announced his ‘anti-corruption yatra,' but till date no formal announcement has been made on details of the ‘yatra.' There were reports that he would start his journey from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birthplace in Gujarat, but more recently the place where Jayaprakash Narayan was born in Bihar seems to be favoured.

It is no secret that the party leadership was less than enthusiastic about Mr. Advani's ‘yatra.' There were fears that it would distract from the important task of preparing for the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in the first half of next year. The party's stakes are high as it has government in the two hill States; is a ruling coalition partner in Punjab; and in U.P. it must improve its position dramatically to be even a contender for power in 2014 Lok Sabha election.

Matters will become clear only after the meetings on Wednesday, but if the RSS push comes to shove, Mr. Advani may even be asked to cancel his ‘yatra' altogether, party sources suggested.