Font Size 
BJP to get new prez in the New Year
Published on Tue, Dec 27, 2005 at 13:25, Updated on Tue, Dec 27, 2005 at 16:41 in 
Tags: 
Mumbai: BJP President L K Advani will step down on December 31 and the party's General Secretary and former UP chief minister Rajnath Singh will take over as the new president in the first week of January.
On the second day of the party’s silver jubilee celebrations at Mumbai, party sources said that the BJP National Executive will meet in Delhi to ratify Rajnath Singh's appointment.
On day one of the Mumbai convention the party laid emphasis on returning to its Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) roots.
There was also an admission of the fact that the BJP still needed to be in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to win elections.
Advani inaugurated the two-day National Executive, which is being attended by party national executive members, MPs, MLAs and office-bearers from across India.
Advani has been locked in an intense ideological battle with the RSS ever since his controversial remarks about Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
During his tour to Pakistan a few months ago, Advani had said that Jinnah was a secular person leading to a major uproar in the Sangh Parivar.
He was not only accused of deviating from the ideological path by his party collegues and the Sangh Parivar but also forced to resign as the president of BJP.
Now as he nears the end of his BJP presidency, Advani seems to have realised that he has lost the battle and tried to mend his fences with the RSS.
"Sangh is an integral part of BJP. Without the Sangh the party can not exist," Advani said on Monday.
But just three months back he had hit out at the RSS accusing it of trying to remote control the BJP.
Not only did he make a U-turn in Mumbai, but his party collegues also denounced the tendency to push individuals above the party.
To read IBNLive stories on mobile, log on to m.ibnlive.com on your mobile browser
| Related Ads: | |
Read Comment | Post Comment
Be the first to comment.