Who will be next BJP national president ? ::: Difficult to say ... is the common most refrain ::: In the past often saffron party did 'mistakes' in choosing its chief

"Difficult to say ...?" - is the common most refrain in the party circles these days when the general query is .,, Who will be the next BJP national president ? ::: 

In the past often saffron party did a few'mistakes' in choosing its chief.  

A former BJP president : Illustrious Advani 

The classic example of mistake in choosing a low profile BJP chief was during the stint of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister. Like Amit Shah is 'so powerful' these days, Advani was then. 

And the leadership wanted to experiment with a South Indian and hence K Jana Krishnamurthi became party boss ! 

He became Lotus party's national president in 2001. He held the post till June 2002.

On paper, it looked fine and perhaps also promising. Krishnamurthi was the second person from Tamil Nadu to head a national party in India after Kamaraj (who headed Congress) But Krishnamurthi's was a lacklustre performance. 

Ironically, he took charge on 14th March, 2001 succeeding Bangaru Laxman, who had to quit after Tehelka tapes made big-time hangama. 

By June 2002, the party strategists wanted a vocal/articulate party chief as the post-Godgra riots had started and the party had to defend its government and party role in Gujarat. 

Jana Krishnamuthi reportedly agreed to quit as party chief provided he was made Law Minister of India. Of course, he had a Law degree and subseqyently he replaced Arun Jaitley in the law ministry.

For records, we may keep it in mind that in 1993 Krishnamurthi had moved to Delhi at the request of L. K. Advani and set up the Intellectual Cells of the BJP on Economic, Defence and Foreign Affairs. From 1995 onwards he was in charge of the BJP Headquarters. He also served as the Spokesperson of the Party. 

In 1998, Krishnamurthi contested the Lok Sabha election from South Chennai and lost by a very small margin. 

 

Kushabhau Thakre was another BJP president and a low-profile personality. Though a committed RSS man and struggled hard to uphold party and Sangh fountainhead's principles -- he was soon mocked as BJP's Sitaram Kesri.

On 14 April 1998 Thakre was elected as president of the saffron party and in August 2000, he stepped down from this post. 

Thakre 

About 2002 politics one can refer here to the Union Cabinet reshuffle by PM Vajpayee as there were interesting tales and anecdotes.

* Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha swapped places (Sinha became External Affairs Minister and Jaswant took over the responsibilities of Finance)

 --  (The story goes -- "There was an undercurrent of resentment that Yashwant, held responsible by a large section of the BJP for alienating its middle-class support" - for his handling of Finance. (as mentioned in a report in 'The Telegraph'). 

Sinha's taxation measures had boomeranged but he was 'rewarded' by Vajpayee with an equally weighty portfolio for his alleged 'incompetence and bungling'.

%% Notably Sinha was eyeing Finance portfolio even under PM Narendra Modi - but by then Arun Jaitley had gained Namo's confidence.

** Sinha later became a Trinamool leader and also contested against Draupadi Murmu for the vital presidential polls in 2022. 

In July 2002, film stars-turned-neta Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Khanna, entered Atal Bihari Vajpayee's team in ministerial changes.

Sinha was even made Health Minister. But he had to replaced by Sushma Swaraj rather quickly.

Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee could not make it to the Cabinet amid what appeared to be 'murky developments' around her party. She did not attend the swearing-in either.  In 2001 when the worst crisis of credibility hit the Vajpayee government over Tehelka tapes; she quit the ministry leaving PM and Advani red-faced. Opportunism has been a trait.

 

In June 2002, it was Vajpayee's eighth shuffle since October 1999, when his government returned to power post-Kargil.

Talking of pacifiers, a long-standing malcontent - Delhi BJP leader Sahib Singh Verma - received the fruit of his labours when he was rewarded with the labour ministry.

Sharad Yadav and Satya Narain Jatiya as Labour ministers were removed as (reportedly) they did not push Labour reforms. 

Shanta Kumar moves to Rural Development ministry.

The Shiv Sena's Balasaheb Vikhe Patil was also accommodated in the Cabinet and was given heavy industry department vacated by Manohar Joshi who became the Lok Sabha Speaker. 

(What gave it an extra dimension was the Prime Minister's declaration that the BJP organisation, too, would be subject to an overhaul.)

What did the exercise achieve? Apart from reasserting L.K. Advani's supremacy in the BJP and making his position as the number two in the government formal, it did little to encourage the idea that the Cabinet was being given a new look, the journos wrote !

ends