BJP’s strongman opts for a face-lift to achieve his ultimate political dream of being India’s PM
The BJP’s parliamentary board, which ratified L.K.Advani’s
candidature as the Prime Minister in waiting, is in the throes of another ticklish query: while the party, allies and cadres accept Advani as their supreme leader, will the country, and more specifically Muslims, do the same when the time comes? Therefore, members of the parliamentary board have asked the state BJP chiefs to carry out an internal survey in various states for the consumption of their cadres and other party leaders. The question they have to address: what can be done to reform Advani’s hardline image and steps that need to be taken to improve and liberalise his image.
This operation is to be headed by BJP vice president, Mokhtar Abbas Naqvi. His brief: to find out why Advani, who has a hardline Hindutva image, has been unable to make an impact on the common mass of public in the same way as Sonia Gandhi or Atal Behari Vajpayee. The question rankling the BJP top brass is despite conducting five rath yatras between 1990 and 1997, Advani is not quite considered a man of the masses. At several meetings of the parliamentary board, office bearers have told state chiefs that Advani’s name and public programme, if any in the state, should be given wide publicity. His pronouncements and statements needed to be played up and his entire programmes need to be highlighted well.
But like most leaders who have aspired to lead India, Advani is very keen to undergo an image change, from being a leading Hindutva factionalist to a moderate leader with middle-of-the road views and wide acceptability. The man chosen to conduct this face change is Naqvi, a Shia, who BJP leaders say has acceptability amongst Muslims. According to one strategy being planned, the virulent anti-terrorist rhetoric, at least at Advani’s meetings is going to be tempered down. The meetings, to be uniformly christened as anti-terrorist rallies, will be held throughout the country.
ptullah was first considered for the assignment, but since Naqvi is an old favourite of the Sangh, he got the nod over her. According to the BJP assessment, the fight in the next Lok Sabha is going to be a tough one and in a tight contest, it is important not to acquire the hostility of the Muslims. Even if a small but significant portion of that vote bank moves towards the BJP, the NDA would become a strong contender for the title fight. For the record, the BJP denies anything anything out of the way. “Advani does not need any props. He can win an election on his own,” Naqvi told B&E.
Senior leader and Rajya Sabha member, Arun Jaitley, told B&E: “Advani is our leader and we are going to go to elections under his leadership.” In fact, according to Naqvi, if all goes according to plan, then Advani would have toured all of the 500+ parliamentary constituencies by the end of 2008.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
The BJP’s parliamentary board, which ratified L.K.Advani’s
candidature as the Prime Minister in waiting, is in the throes of another ticklish query: while the party, allies and cadres accept Advani as their supreme leader, will the country, and more specifically Muslims, do the same when the time comes? Therefore, members of the parliamentary board have asked the state BJP chiefs to carry out an internal survey in various states for the consumption of their cadres and other party leaders. The question they have to address: what can be done to reform Advani’s hardline image and steps that need to be taken to improve and liberalise his image.This operation is to be headed by BJP vice president, Mokhtar Abbas Naqvi. His brief: to find out why Advani, who has a hardline Hindutva image, has been unable to make an impact on the common mass of public in the same way as Sonia Gandhi or Atal Behari Vajpayee. The question rankling the BJP top brass is despite conducting five rath yatras between 1990 and 1997, Advani is not quite considered a man of the masses. At several meetings of the parliamentary board, office bearers have told state chiefs that Advani’s name and public programme, if any in the state, should be given wide publicity. His pronouncements and statements needed to be played up and his entire programmes need to be highlighted well.
But like most leaders who have aspired to lead India, Advani is very keen to undergo an image change, from being a leading Hindutva factionalist to a moderate leader with middle-of-the road views and wide acceptability. The man chosen to conduct this face change is Naqvi, a Shia, who BJP leaders say has acceptability amongst Muslims. According to one strategy being planned, the virulent anti-terrorist rhetoric, at least at Advani’s meetings is going to be tempered down. The meetings, to be uniformly christened as anti-terrorist rallies, will be held throughout the country.
ptullah was first considered for the assignment, but since Naqvi is an old favourite of the Sangh, he got the nod over her. According to the BJP assessment, the fight in the next Lok Sabha is going to be a tough one and in a tight contest, it is important not to acquire the hostility of the Muslims. Even if a small but significant portion of that vote bank moves towards the BJP, the NDA would become a strong contender for the title fight. For the record, the BJP denies anything anything out of the way. “Advani does not need any props. He can win an election on his own,” Naqvi told B&E.
Senior leader and Rajya Sabha member, Arun Jaitley, told B&E: “Advani is our leader and we are going to go to elections under his leadership.” In fact, according to Naqvi, if all goes according to plan, then Advani would have toured all of the 500+ parliamentary constituencies by the end of 2008.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
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