Naidu quits, Advani assumes charge

VHP dejected, RSS hopes new BJP chief will meet hindutva aspirations

Former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani returned as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president today after M Venkaiah Naidu tendered his resignation citing personal reasons.

Naidu who had been facing a lot of criticism after the BJP lost power at the Centre and was defeated in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, said "the disappointing electoral performance of the party was a secondary reason" for his resignation.

Advani will assume charge at the party headquarters tomorrow. However, his elevation to the post will be endorsed at the October 29 meeting of the party. Immediately after taking over, Advani will chair a meeting of office-bearers and senior leaders.

Naidu denied reports that general secretary Pramod Mahajan had been asked to resign following the party's defeat in Maharashtra. "We do not blame individuals for collective failures," said Naidu.

However, a new generation of middle-level leaders were likely to replace current incumbents in the party structure, sources said.

Advani's appointment represents a break from the debacle of the Lok Sabha elections that the party was struggling to come to terms with. It will also impart a new political edge to the Opposition politics. As the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and BJP chief, Advani will have an unparalleled stature.

With Naidu's resignation, he becomes the third consecutive BJP chief to resign midway through his term, illustrating a crisis in the party. Bangaru Laxman and Jana Krishnamurthy were the other two.

Differing with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Rashtriya Swaymsewak Sangh (RSS) today welcomed the elevation Advani as the new BJP chief and expressed the hope that he would be able to meet the expectations of the "larger Hindu movement" and re-establish the organisation as a "party with a difference".

"He is a highly respected and mature leader, who has grown up in the Sangh ideology, understands the significance of the sentiments of the people who are spearheading the ideology. We hope that he will be able to bring in necessary changes to meet the expectations of all," RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said.

Maintaining that leadership issue was the prerogative of the party, he said both the party and the larger Hindutva movement had expectations from Advani. "We only hope he will be able to fulfil them".

The VHP expressed disappointment over Advani's appointment saying by doing so, the party had given a message that "it does not want to return to Hindutva".

"By electing the leader who is responsible for betraying Hindus, the BJP has given a message that they do not want to return to Hindu agenda," said Praveen Togadia, VHP secretary-general.