Is the BJP critically in its “worst ever catastrophe”
- to quote orgasmic television reporters, anchors and studio guests?
LK Advani “had” both the wisdom and the kindness to realize
that when the BJP came to power earlier, Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be a more
uniting factor than he himself was. Thoughtfully, Mr. Advani stood aside.
Now years later he realises Mr. Modi is not a Vajpayee and
stands worried. He senses that the Modi juggernaut is pre-emptive politics and it might damage the
party. Mr. Advani stands as a man who faces the irony that his swansong may be
an act of tempered refusal.
Advani knows that on a national front Modi may not be the force he is projected to be, and in the Gujarat Chief Minister's case he has earned a reputation that precedes him, and could well damage ties and alliances even before they are formed. Mr. Modi might completely shatter a party in crisis instead of being a force propelling the BJP into the future."
It is not just about the internal collisions within the party, its decisional rituals, its ideologies, the contending ambitions within it; it is also the question of coalitions.