Kushabhau Likely To Succeed Advani

Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Kushabhau Thakre is likely to be the next party president. A final decision on this is slated to be taken towards the end of April when the partys organisational elections are to be completed.

Thakre emerged the frontrunner after an informal meeting of the partys five general secretaries with party president LK Advani yesterday.

Though the general secretaries were tightlipped, some leaders close to them said Thakre was their unanimous choice.

The party will take a final decision after Advani consults Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and senior leader Sunder Singh Bhandari. Vajpayee was reported to be opposed to Thakre when the name first cropped up before the Lok Sabha elections.

 

Party managers were, however, confident that Vajpayee would not object now.

His objections had been based on the assumption that the BJP needed a public figure as its president to steer it to victory and since this was no longer necessary, the Prime Minister would no longer object to Thakres candidature, a senior leader argued.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was very much in the race till Tuesdays meeting tilted the balance in favour of Thakre. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sanghs strong backing of the latter made all the difference. Shekhawat has never been an RSS pracharak and he cannot be trusted to generate cadre confidence, the BJP leader said.

Moreover, Shekhawat has been under attack after the BJP lost the majority of the states 25 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress in the elections.

Moreover, Shekhawat should prove his political mettle by leading the party to victory in the assembly elections due in Rajasthan this November, the leader said.

Thakres candidature also fits in with senior BJP leaders focus on strengthening the party organisation.

The party needs a leader who could push the partys ideological and political line, one leader held. Shekhawat, considered a liberal, does not fit the bill.

The BJP top brass has also rejected the argument that they need a chief as charismatic as Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The partys image would be reflected by the Vajpayee government, and Vajpayee with Advani as the home minister, would continue to counter Sonia Gandhi, one party office-bearer said.

Thakre yesterday refused to acknowledge his likely elevation but held that the immediate task before the party was to strengthen the organisation.

He has been the BJPs general secretary in charge for organistion.

Party general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu announced that the BJPs two-day national council meeting would be held from May 2, when a new president would take over from Advani.