Click to play videoNew Delhi: The yaatri of Indian politics has finally come to the end of his political yatra. L K Advani, the grand patriarch of BJP has announced his decision to step down from his post of Leader of Opposition. With this, the curtains comes down on an era within the BJP described as the Atal-Advani era. This era was made up of three decades in which the BJP rose from the political margins to becoming the principal challenger to Congress dominance.
L K Advani had said then, "In 1984 we were at our lowest point when we got just two seats in the Lok Sabha. Suddenly in 1989 we made a big leap forward and got 86 seats. Then the growth became unstoppable and BJP is now amongst the two principle poles of Indian politics."
Central to the rise of the BJP as a political force was Advani's rath yatra of 1990 - a journey that changed the discourse of Indian politics. It culminated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and sparked off street violence. However, it pitched Advani as the ideological mascot of the BJP and made Hindutva a vote-catching idea.
When in 1996, the BJP first came to power at the Centre, Advani's strategy seemed to have work.
"I am proud to have been part of the Ayodhya movement. But I regret the demolition of the Babri Masjid," he had said then.
While Atal Bihari Vajpayee emerged as the face of the party in power, his consensual image was more suited to the demands of coalition politics. Advani was home minister then and later deputy prime minister. It was his Vikas Purush Lauh Purush dualism that the BJP had projected for over three decades.
"We have never been rivals. I have always respected Vajpayee ji as my leader ever since I came in contact with him and he also has trusted me as a colleague," Advani had said.
Ironically, the last few years saw Advani consciously dilute his image as a votary of militant Hindutva. The visit to Pakistan in 2005 and his remarks on Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah were meant to transform Advani's public image. What they did instead was to cast a doubt on his stature as the ideological mascot of Hindutva within the Sangh Parivar.
"A theocratic state is bound to be viewed as communal. The concept of secularism as propounded by Jinnah in his August 11 speech was 'that hereafter let Hindus go to their temples and Muslims go to their mosques and in the eyes of the state they shall be equal citizens'. This is a concept which if Bangladesh, India and Pakistan were to adopt, the possibility of their coming closer would increase," Advani had said about Jinnah in 2005.
The last few months were difficult, especially after the 2009 Lok Sabha defeat when he was projected as the prime ministerial candidate for the first time. Once the master strategist, Advani appeared to be losing the political edge that had been his badge of identity. While his critics saw him as a polarising figure, to his admirers he was a path-breaker who challenged the prevailing secular consensus.
Advani's close aide Sudherendra Kulkarni said, "Through the Ayodhya movement he forced a new debate and gave a new meaning to secularism."
Life without L K Advani at the helm is something the BJP will take time to come to terms with. While Advani is likely to continue in an advisory capacity to the Parliamentary party, it's clear that his role will now be more ceremonial.
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