26.4.09

Modi-for-PM ....?


Till a few weeks ago, most admirers of Narendra Modi in Gujarat believed that it will be only in 2014 that Missile Modi will hit New Delhi. The general feeling was Modi is happy being the CM of Gujarat, a state which will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee in 2010, and watch from the sidelines the coalition circus which unfolds shortly. But there is a change in thinking in Gujarat, as well as within the BJP, on the timing of the move. It has to be earlier, feel those admirers of Modi, who are anxious that he takes centre-stage as soon as possible. “Five years is too long a time in politics, I think he (Modi) is in a hurry to come to Delhi,” a senior bureaucrat said. The possibilities are immense and even BJP allies are feeling that Modi’s next big push towards Delhil is imminent. The media has also anticipated the trajectory of his flight. A journalist in Delhi said almost everyone wants to know when Missile Modi will strike Delhi. Almost everybody in the media also wants to interview Modi. Sources in the chief minister’s office (CMO) say there are 40-plus requests pending for interviews and following his campaign trail, which is entirely aerial. But most important are the signals coming from the Sangh Parivar. Within months of calling Modi Mahmud of Ghazni, for demolishing over 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar, VHP chief Ashok Singhal was forced to come to Ahmedabad on Friday and clarify that his comment was meant to be a joke. While that may sound funny, it is clear that Modi has the blessings of new RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. He cemented his 35-year-old ties with Bhagwats by identifying his father and one of the pillars of RSS, late Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, as one of the luminaries who influenced him in his early life as a pracharak. Bhagwat Jr. came to Ahmedabad to release Modi’s book ‘Jyotipunj’ in 2007. On the same day a tamed Singhal was praising Modi, Arun Shourie was also in Ahmedabad touting Modi was a future PM, qualifying the comment by adding that this was his “personal feeling”. One couldn’t expect him to say in public this was the ‘Parivar feeling” too. First it was Arun Shourie,now it’s Arun Jaitley—both of them want Narendra Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate after L K Advani.Coming bang in the middle of an election in which Advani is the BJP’s candidate for the top job, the search for Advani’s successor has set tongues wagging—has the BJP, or a section of the party, already thrown in the towel and is it looking ahead? Like Shourie, Jaitley made it plain that there is no shift from Advani’s projection as the prime ministerial candidate for 2009, but his support for Modi in Vadodara is bound to fuel a debate and controversy, inviting caustic inquiries from the Congress about whether the BJP was hunting for an insurance policy.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ideal case would be if Advani is interim PM till 2010. Modi is committed to Gujarat till 2010 when the state completes its anniversary of founding. After that he can take over from Advani as PM. Until 2010 Modi can hold double position of deputy PM/home and Gujarat CM both simultaneously. This is best compromise for BJP while still maintaining hierarchy and order.
After all, in last poll when BJP lost, Advani was the pm candidate since Vajpayee had announced his retirement and we have seen the nation's response. Modi as PM after 2010 is best hope for BJP to come to power otherwise they can forget about coming to power. Advaniji does not excite too many youths.