The tussle in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for election of the party president is likely to end in a whimper. Incumbent Nitin Gadkari is expected to win the contest, with active support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Senior BJP leader L K Advani is vehemently opposed to the Sangh’s decision to support Gadkari. He wants Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to become chief. However, with Swaraj not contesting, Gadkari is most likely to win unopposed.
The filing of nomination papers for the election is scheduled on Wednesday. If elected, Gadkari will be the first to win consecutive elections for president.
According to party seniors, Swaraj would have agreed to become party chief if RSS supported her candidature. Sources added that RSS had not and nor was there a consensus within BJP. Advani had proposed that Swaraj be made president and the charge of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha be given to some other senior leader, but the plan didn’t work out.
The RSS has also managed to convince Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to support Gadkari’s candidature. Modi was initially opposed to Gadkari, but has agreed to do so after the intervention of senior RSS leaders.
Advani wanted a politically more active person to take charge. Though the RSS had agreed to consider former BJP president Rajnath Singh, Advani didn’t agree. “The RSS is not in favour of making any of the central leaders of the BJP party president and, instead, wants someone from the states to take charge,” said a senior leader, asking not to be named. Some leaders added that Advani has always been opposed to Gadkari as party chief as he believes the party should be led by a politically active person with a mass appeal.
