RSS plans new leadership system for BJP

The imminent exit of LK Advani from the post of Bharatiya Janata Party president has spurred the Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) to hold on to the upper hand it has vis-avis BJP affairs.

According to top party sources, the office of the BJP chief, in all probability, is going to be discontinued, with a politburo style functioning to be introduced as it used to be in the old Jan Sangh days.

According to top sources in the Sangh and the BJP, the RSS feels that the office of the party chief leaves too much power in the hands of one person, since he is the appointing authority when it comes to other office-bearers.

"The constitutional changes, being considered by the RSS for the BJP, include making direct election the only way to hold a post in the party, with the top post being that of a general secretary," said a top BJP source.

In the coming weeks, BJP leaders will see increasing interaction between senior RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat and BJP Vice-President Bal Apte and Organisation Secretary Sanjay Joshi.

"There is going to be a massive tinkering or, what the RSS calls, course correction," said a top source in the RSS.

The exercise to determine the immediate replacement for Advani has intensified in Sangh circles. In fact, it started around July 17, when a back-room deal between the RSS and Advani had been struck on the timing of his exit.

The Sangh refused to react to Advani's comments on the perception that the RSS interference in every political and organisational matter of the BJP would be harmful to both the BJP and the RSS.

"We will discuss the matter Advani's successor, since he/she will be the future leadership of the party," said a top RSS source.

"At the stage where Advani is in his career, he is looking at how he will be perceived in history. We are taking his comments as a statement trying to influence that perception, not a constructive statement for a plan of action," said the RSS source. "Dialogue between the RSS and the BJP is always open," he added.

The next three months are likely to witness a heavy tussle for power among various second generation leaders in the BJP, while the RSS appears in the mood to appoint a pliable person in Advani's place.