Vajpayee's praise for Mahajan irks BJP leaders

Unlike BJP conventions in the past, the party's 25th anniversary celebrations did not end with Atal Behari Vajpayee's speech on Friday. Vajpayee, who did not deliver his valedictory address due to ill health, had left speculation in his wake on Thursday when he made his maiden speech at the five-day convention, naming party general secretary Pramod Mahajan as number two in the party, Laxman to L K Advani's Ram.

This Ram-Laxman configuration, however, has riled quite a few of the party's second generation leaders. Added to it was the speculation that Mahajan may be elevated to the powerful post of organisational general secretary, which till now has been the preserve of RSS pracharaks and is presently vacant with the exit of Sanjay Joshi.

An irritated Vankaiah Naidu said there were many Rams and Laxmans in the BJP and that he himself was the loyal Hanuman.

"We are all Laxmans; I am Hanuman," he said. Another senior leader said that "till now we thought that Venkaiah was Advani's Laxman. Where has Pramod Mahajan cropped up from?"

Mahajan is not exactly Advani's favourite general secretary in the party. "Let us all become Rams and choose our Laxmans," said another leader. In all this, president-designate Rajnath Singh's reaction was scrutinised closely, but he chose to maintain a discreet silence.

Pramod Mahajan himself refused to comment on Vajpayee's speech. "I am neither elated, nor apologetic; it was like an unexpected blessing," he said.

The BJP brass may have been thrown into a disarray by Vajpayee's speech, but for the rest of the party it was the earlier part of his speech that is operative. The 82-year-old former prime minister's announcement of retirement marked the end of an era.

His no-show at the BJP National Council today was being interpreted differently. Some chose it to mean that he'd had his last word; or that he reserved it.