The new BJP president Rajnath Singh was chosen because there was no one else left in the fray as most of his competitors were eliminated through one way or another, say those who see him as not being a suitable candidate for the position. Those who want to be fair to the man say his selection only reflects the fact that he has avoided being in anyone's coterie and is very much his own man.
Coming from a rural background, 55-year-old Singh is an RSS recruit and rose from within its ranks in the small town of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. He later joined the BJP and served the party in various capacities.
He was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh chief minister in October 2000 and later became the Union minister for surface transport and, subsequently, Union agriculture minister.
All this while, Singh kept a low profile, avoiding controversies and unnecessary rivalries from within the party (except an unavoidable one with Kalyan Singh).
And yet there is more to the dignified BJP president than this run down on his career. His maiden speech as BJP president focused on rural issues making a clear departure from the agenda of his predecessors.
Recently, when former Gujarat governor Sunder Singh Bhandari who had publicly criticised the Modi government's handling of the riots in the state, fell terminally ill, Singh made it a point to visit Bhandari quite often.
'He is angry and isolated, but he is our man,' Singh is reported to have said. It is in fact this quality of conciliation which is expected to help him during his tenure.
His takeover at a time when the twin pillars of the BJP, Atal Behari Vajpayee and L K Advani are seeing an eclipse, is significant. He will perhaps be one of the most powerful presidents of the party since Advani.
This is a presidential term with the greatest potentiality, and much will depend on whether he chooses to move out of the former president's shadow.
What is most visible about him is his gravity and dignity. A lesser self assured man than Singh would have chafed at being kept in the background during the recently concluded gala in Mumbai to mark the party's 25th anniversary.
But not Singh, who had enough patience in him to wait till he was given the grand prize. He preferred to stay in Advani's shadow, and is now quietly making sure that Advani loyalist Venkaiah Naidu finds no space in his team.
The role Singh played during the political crisis in Jharkhand clearly reflects his personality. The state government, being run with the support of five independent MLAs, was teetering on the edge of survival.
Singh conciliated the parties involved, promised a few rewards, and confessed that the government may not survive if the same continues.
"This is not the way the government will work, we will be out of power, but (to the independents) so will you, it is a zero sum game," he is reported to have said. The government was saved. The RSS and the BJP are hoping that Singh will find a way to save the BJP in a similar way.
