Advani's 40-day yatra to start from JP's land

BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Thursday sought to delink veteran L K Advani’s proposed anti-corruption yatra from being a bid to project himself as the party’s prime ministerial candidate. Many in the BJP top brass were capable of leading the country, he said while revealing the itinerary of the 40-day march starting October 11.

The yatra will start from Bihar’s Sitabdiara, the birthplace of Jayaprakash Narayan, on the birth anniversary of the late nationalist leader. “We want to emphasise on clean politics and good governance. This yatra is not to nominate the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. For that, there are many options in the party,” he said. The yatra will culminate at Delhi on November 20, a day before the start of Parliament’s winter session.

On September 8, on the last day of monsoon session, Advani, nearing 84, stumped many seniors within his party (including Gadkari) and the RSS by announcing plans for a yatra, catching most of the BJP leadership. Many in both organisations were upset, suspecting the senior leader’s veiled attempt to become the frontrunner for the prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 general elections.

On Thursday, Gadkari said that he spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in a bid to ensure that his Janata Dal (United) was free of its discomfiture it had expressed over the matter.

It had only gone worse because of a recent three-day fast his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi undertook — also seen as a show of one-upmanship within the BJP. A “convinced” Kumar has now agreed to flag off Advani’s yatra, he said, making clear the NDA’s move to show unity within the the main Opposition bloc.

“I was not in Delhi for the past few days. Now I am back. I will personally speak to (JD-U chief) Sharad Yadav to attend the first big rally in Patna after the yatra starts,” Gadkari said. Senior BJP leaders, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, would also attend the rally along with Advani, he added.

The yatra for good governance is Advani’s sixth such tour of the country, but this time the senior BJP leader has chosen to avoid religious issues like Ayodhya and Mathura during his tour in Uttar Pradesh. He would also not go to the Somnath temple in his native Gujarat. In 1989, it was from Somnath temple that Advani started his first rally before the demolition of Babri Masjid.

The debate over BJP’s prime ministerial candidate has led to fierce infighting within the the party top leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Modi are also believed to be eyeing the top post.

The RSS, besides some top BJP leader, surprised at Advani’s attempt to take the centre-stage in BJP’s choice for PM candidate, convinced Advani that he will not be the only one leader in the yatra but he will have to share the limelight with others in the party as well.