BJP's 'backseat' ex-president dies at 79

Former BJP president Jana Krishnamurthy died today in Chennai marking the end of an unremarkable career.

Krishnamurthy, 79, was a Rajya Sabha MP and a Minister of Law in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, a post given to him as a sinecure (the Department of Company Affairs was hived off and given to Jaswant Singh) after he stepped down from the party presidentship in 2002 without being offered a second term.

When Bangaru Laxman, a Dalit, was made party president, Krishnamurthy stayed away from the celebrations. He had to be cajoled to congratulate Laxman.

But then, Laxman had to resign after the Tehelka scam (he was caught on camera accepting a 'donation'). This time, Krishnamurthy got his chance. Though a Brahmin, he replaced a Dalit, a part of the BJP's effort to project a southern face.

Krishnamurthy became an RSS follower in early 1940s and was a founder national secretary of the BJP. His tenure as party president can be summed up in one incident "" he had no idea Vinay Katiyar has been appointed the president of the UP unit, a decision taken by LK Advani and others. Therefore, a backseat president might be an apt description.

In the south, even in his own state, while having a working relationship with all leading political figures, including AIADMK president J Jayalalitha and DMK chief K Karunanidhi, he was unable to give the BJP a profile.

Chief Minister MG Ramachandran became the first chief minister to visit the Kollur Mookambika temple in 1977, and in the process, the first to recognise the potential of Hindus as a voter category.

In 1984, it was the Hindu Munnani, not the BJP, which became the first Hindu party to win a seat in the legislative Assembly, from Nagarcoil district.