On the eve of its three-day ‘chintan baithak’ at Shimla, the BJP again found itself warding off questions about leadership and poll debacle, the issues the party is least prepared to discuss. And this time, it’s the RSS that has caused the embarrassment.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has urged the party to look for a younger leader and discuss what led to the drubbing in the polls. This has put the BJP’s leadership in a spot, as it planned to discuss only the “road ahead” at Shimla.
Speaking to a news channel, Bhagwat slammed infighting in the BJP and called for a change in the party’s leadership. “I think the BJP has received a nasty jolt… it lost its balance. They have to regain that. Whatever happened (the defeat in the general election) was not very good… How it happened, what was the mistake, they should give a thought to this at the chintan baithak,” said Bhagwat.
The RSS chief said the BJP has to decide about the change in leadership. “This is a universal truth that [the] young[er] generation must replace [the older one]; but when and where, they have to decide.”
Bhagwat said the next leader need not be restricted to the top four. He also denied that the RSS had asked Advani to stay on after the Lok Sabha polls. The decision to stay on was his, Bhagwat said, adding that Advani had called on him to discuss factionalism in the party.
The BJP reacted guardedly. “The BJP has always believed in the youth. It has encouraged young leaders and even made them chief ministers,” said Venkaiah Naidu.
Privately, some of them mocked Bhagwat’s statement. “Why four or five? There are 75 among us who can head the party,” said a BJP leader.
Another, clearly rattled, blamed the media for harping on the BJP’s loss in the Lok Sabha election. At the ‘chintan baithak’, he said the party would only focus on “the road ahead” rather than change in leadership and poll debacle.
