New Delhi: Lal Krishna Advani, the 87-year-old patriarch of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not speaking on any party forums these days.
First, he turned down the party president Amit Shah's request to speak at the National Executive Meet of BJP in Bengaluru and two days later he, reportedly, did not attend the 35th Foundation Day of the party though he was present in Delhi that day.
He was duly told about the foundation day function beforehand. However, he said that he would not be attending the function due to a prior commitment and that “not much was made of it by the party either”.
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In 2013 also, Advani did not make the traditional address to the party's national executive and skipped that meet as well. Speculations were rife at that time also that the senior leader was upset on Narendra Modi being projected as the prime ministerial candidate by the party for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The displeasure of Advani was obvious and visible throughout the election campaigning process too. It propelled further when he, alongwith other senior leaders, Murli Manohar Joshi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was cornered as the ‘Marg Darshak Mandal' of the party who would not have any decision-making powers. The veterans were allowed only to guide the rein–holders.
No doubt, the party senior held feelings of resentment of not being given the due respect. At one point of time, he was looked as the only person who could have led BJP after Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
As was said by the current home affairs minister Rajnath Singh in 2007, “After Atal there is only Advani. Advani is the natural choice. It is he who should be PM.” Rajnath Singh was the president of BJP at that time.
Party projected Advani as their prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha elections slated for 2009 however, it lost to Congress and Manmohan Singh continued the Prime Ministership.
One can derive that the veteran leader must have highly expected to fulfill his longing in the 2014 elections but there also party chose Narendra Modi over him and the same even worked when virtually the entire country was swayed by the so-called Modi wave.
Party also thought to encash on the same and Modi's next – Amit Shah was made the party chief instead of Advani. Added to that, their decision-making powers were also seized.
One can conclude that all these must have added up to a level that now the patriarch is openly disapproving of all the major undertakings of the party. Since his voice may be subdued so he is trying to make his disapproval evident through silence.
This only has given the opportunity to gossip-mongers as well. Recently, the Congress party general Digvijay Singh remarked on Modi saying that he always removes the ladder which helps him to climb up.
