Fissures in the BJP

L K Advani’s simmering differences with BJP chief Nitin Gadkari and the RSS appear to be coming to a head. On a day when it could claim some credit for a successful Bharat bandh, the BJP was embroiled in a fresh burst of dissidence with Advani launching a barely veiled attack on Gadkari’s leadership of the party.    In a well circulated blog, Advani lamented the BJP’s inability to “rise to the occasion” to take advantage of the UPA-2’s shortcomings, specifically pointing to decisions linked to Gadkari like the controversial induction of UP health scam accused Babu Singh Kushwaha, nomination of a “shady” businessman for Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand and political troubles in Karnataka. 
“The mood within the party these days is not upbeat…The results in Uttar Pradesh, the manner in which the party welcomed BSP ministers who were removed by Mayawatiji on charges of corruption, the party’s handling of Jharkhand and Karnataka—all these events have undermined the BJP’s campaign against corruption,” Advani said. He almost singled out Gadkari for the party’s failures by praising the performance of senior leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley in Parliament.  
Advani’s sharp criticism annoyed his colleagues who felt it could undercut the BJP’s attempts to pitch itself as the natural alternative to the Congress by riding an anti-corruption mood and resentment over the general price rise, accentuated by decisions like a steep hike in petrol rates and a perception of frozen governance.    An unfazed Gadkari went about his official chores and received a boost when all senior party leaders present in the national capital, barring Advani, turned up for a meeting he called on Thursday afternoon to build upon what BJP sources called the “success” of the Bharat bandh. The meeting ignored Advani’s comments with no one referring to the blog. 
Advani’s absence from the meeting, days after he skipped a public meeting in Mumbai where Gadkari was given another term, fortified the perception of his estrangement from the party chief, the latter’s mentors in the RSS as well as senior party leaders who see Gadkari as the best bet in the given circumstances. Importantly, the stalwart did not appear to mask the differences. The blog where he publicly faulted Gadkari was a riposte to a column critical of the media for running down the recent BJP meeting in Mumbai as a factional show.