Home » national news » From Babri to Modi: How the demolition may have destroyed Advani's career
 
SPEED NEWS

From Babri to Modi: How the demolition may have destroyed Advani's career

Durga M Sengupta | Updated on: 13 February 2017, 11:59 IST
QUICK PILL
  • In September 1990, then BJP chief Lal Krishna Advani helped establish the party as a force to be reckoned with when he set out on rathyatras to mobilise people for the Ayodhya movement.
  • Once the BJP\'s choice for Prime Minister, over the years Advani was pushed out of the way to allow younger leaders like Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi to take over.
  • He has lamented about how the BJP is no longer the party created by Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Deendayal Upadhyaya, Nanaji Deshmukh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

A child born on the day Babri Masjid was demolished would be 23-years-old today. And yet, there is no sign of legal ramification against BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani, the man who carried out rathyatras to mobilise karsevaks to rally for their rights to Ram Janmabhoomi.

Yes, there was one conspiracy charge against him and several others - including Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi - which was dropped in 2001 on the grounds that the case related only to the volunteers who physically razed the mosque. In March this year, the Supreme Court asked why the conspiracy charges against the now top-leaders should not be restored.

While Advani, owing to his age, may never really have to face judicial consequences of what happened on 6 December, 1992 at Babri, his career has experienced otherwise.

The BJP's former poster boy

LK Advani (Photo by Ajay Aggarwal / Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Once the top contender for the Prime Minister's seat, Advani was the face of the BJP. Home Minister to the 1998-2004 NDA government and Deputy Prime Minister to the fantastically popular Atal Bihari Vajpayee during 2002-2004, Advani was in every which way the right choice for the NDA government's next PM.

So confident was he of his predicament that in 2006 he stated that as the Leader of the Opposition in a parliamentary democracy, he would be the ideal choice for PM candidate. On 2 May 2007, BJP President Rajnath Singh stated that: "After Atal there is only Advani. Advani is the natural choice. It is he who should be PM." In December 2007, 8 years ago, the Parliamentary Board of BJP formally announced that the 2009 general elections would be Advani's to win.

Alas, the UPA led by incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came back to power for a second term that year. Sushma Swaraj took Advani's place as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The downfall of Advani, which commenced on the day of the Babri Masjid demolition, came a full circle when his powerful crutch Vajpayee retired from active politics after the 2004 defeat.

Also Read: Ayodhya Babri Mosque Demolition; here is a timeline of the events for you

A 'new BJP', the same old Advani

Without Vajpayee's support, Advani gradually lost his hold over the party. And with younger faces like Rajnath Singh taking over, Advani lost his RSS clout too. Despite being a young RSS pracharak in his heyday, as irony often twists its knife, the RSS chief in the 2000's KS Sudarshan pointed out the fact that the BJP was being run by oldies like Vajpayee and Advani.

Then came the Modi wave with its Swachh Bharat agenda that swept Advani aside.

The year 2013 was tumultuous. Advani suddenly resigned from all his posts in the BJP on 10 June, 2013. Reason? Narendra Modi was appointed as head of the electoral campaign of the BJP for the 2014 elections the previous day.

The BJP was no longer the "same idealistic party" created by Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Deendayal Upadhyaya, Nanaji Deshmukh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Advani lamented. Rejecting his resignation, Rajnath convinced Advani to stay on the premise that his expectations would be met. On 11 June, 2013 Advani withdrew his resignation.

Modi came to power in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Modi's governance has seen protests and much anguish over the state of affairs - peppered with awards being returned and the nation's tolerance being questioned. But his time in office so far has not been too off the Hindutva politics radar either.

But Modi is no Advani in his glass chariot invoking the need to restore Ram Janmabhoomi. And that makes all the difference.

Also Read: December 6: Ram Mandir, a commitment or convenience for the BJP?

First published: 6 December 2015, 2:00 IST
 
Durga M Sengupta @the_bongrel

Feminist and culturally displaced, Durga tries her best to live up to her overpowering name. She speaks four languages, by default, and has an unhealthy love for cheesy foods. Assistant Editor at Catch, Durga hopes to bring in a focus on gender politics and the role in plays in all our interactions.