LK Advani running out of time

The political fortunes of Lal Krishna Advani, the BJP’s tallest leader after Atal Behari Vajpayee, are shrinking.

While the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has already indicated its preference for a younger leadership, most former cabinet colleagues and rank and file of the party have now deserted him. The betting is no longer about whether he will stay on as party leader in the Lok Sabha, but when he will quit.

The first sign that Advani’s star is on the wane came with the announcement that the party has cancelled his latest yatra. The yatra, an Advani trademark since September, 1990, was aimed at rejuvenating demoralised cadres in the wake of the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll debacle and before the next round of state elections.

“We thought of timing it to begin before the Maharashtra assembly elections in October. This has been postponed,” said a senior party leader.

Advani’s credibility has been shot to pieces with colleague after colleague now coming out in the open to say he may have misled the public on the Kandahar Indian Airlines IC 814 hijack of December, 1999. Advani, who was home minister and deputy prime minister in Vajpayee’s government, claimed he didn’t know that Jaswant Singh, then external affairs minister, would be accompanying three  militants who were freed in exchange for the release of passengers being held hostage.

Jaswant Singh, who maintained a diplomatic silence on the affair before he was unceremoniously expelled from the BJP about a week ago, has since gone ballistic and said Advani lied to the public on Kandahar.

On Thursday, Brajesh Mishra, national security advisor in the Vajpayee government, joined  Jaswant Singh, Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha and George Fernandes in claiming that Advani was very much part of the cabinet decision to release the militants and send Singh to Kandahar. Mishra’s revelations, made to a TV news channel, come at a time when the rank and file of the BJP is also coming around to the view that nothing short of the removal of Advani and party chief Rajnath Singh can help pull the party out of the mess it finds itself in. 

“The party needs a new face to lead it. We don’t want to see Advaniji any more. And Rajnath Singh does not have the capability to lead the party. Not only did they fail to deliver in the Lok Sabha elections - that can happen in elections - but they have landed the party in a mess,” said a low-profile BJP worker who has been with the party for over 15 years.

The Kandahar revelations have dealt a huge blow to the credibility, prestige and image of Advani. Hemmed in by former colleagues and critics alike, Advani remained confined to his residence. Since he has not indicated any inclination to give up, some wondered whether this was the same leader who had resigned his Lok Sabha seat and vowed not to contest elections till his name was cleared in the hawala scam of the 1990s.

On Thursday, Yashwant Sinha, former finance and external affairs minister, said: “The truth should be spoken. Advani must come out and clarify events. The cabinet committee on security (CCS) minutes of that day need to be examined for clarification. I completely back Brajesh Mishra on  Advani. IC-814 is a matter of recent history, not a party matter.”

The BJP, caught on the wrong foot, fought shy of responding to the charge while the Congress demanded an apology from Advani. “The country wants an unconditional apology from Advani who committed a serious crime against the nation by concealing the truth,” said Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi.

He said the “country was angry” that the former deputy PM was guilty of lying and called it a “serious breach of morality”.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad cried off. “People are saying all this 11-12 years after the incident… What can I say?”