NEW DELHI: The BJP was thrown into chaos as party president L.K. Advani resigned on Tuesday in the wake of the strong attack on him by the VHP and the RSS for his comments on Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Mr Advani, at the end of a tumultuous day, refused to take back the resignation despite some half-hearted efforts by BJP leaders in the beginning. Lobbying for the top post has already started within the party with Murli Manohar Joshi emerging as a frontrunner along with Mr Rajnath Singh, Mr Pramod Mahajan and Ms Sushma Swaraj as the possibilities from Generation Next.

Mr Advani, who reportedly wrote his resignation letter before his departure from Karachi, made it apparent that he was in no mood to review his remarks. “I have not said or done anything in Pakistan which I need to retract or review,” he said in response to the unanimous RSS demand that he retract his remarks describing Jinnah as secular. Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee came out in strong support of Mr Advani, maintaining that his remarks were being deliberately misinterpreted. The two leaders met in the evening at Mr Vajpayee’s residence for about half an hour in a public demonstration of support. It was clear that they would not concede their area of influence to the RSS.

Mr Advani has retained the post of leader of opposition in a clear indication that the drama has not played itself out and the repercussions could have a direct impact on the BJP and national politics. The Janata Dal(U) has set the tone by extending full support to Mr Advani for his efforts to consolidate the peace process between India and Pakistan. Sources close to Mr Advani made it clear that the choice before the NDA, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar was between the old mindset and the new reality. Jan Sangh leader Praful Goradia said the resignation would lead to a vertical split in the BJP.

The RSS forced the resignation with the leaders unanimous that there could be no compromise on “ideology”. The ultimatum to Mr Advani was stark: retract, or resign. He chose the latter with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad forcing the pace. The BJP, stunned into silence initially, started recovering by Tuesday evening with a senior leader who was amongst the first to have rushed to Mr Advani’s residence in the morning terming the resignation as a “positive development”. By late evening a section of the BJP started rallying around Mr Advani with a delegation meeting Mr Vajpayee urging him to intervene.

BJP acting president M. Venkaiah Naidu, after a meeting of senior leaders, issued a strong statement in support of Mr Advani and his role in building the BJP. He said office-bearers of the party and the central parliamentary board was supposed to meet on Wednesday and urge Mr Advani to withdraw his resignation. He said the BJP had taken strong exception to the remarks made by VHP leader Praveen Togadia against Mr Advani and found these to be objectionable and condemnable.

The divide between the moderates and the hardliners in the Sangh Parivar appeared to be deepening by Tuesday evening. Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, whose camp’s initial response to the resignation was “it is high drama”, did not meet Mr Advani. He is being supported by the VHP and a section of the RSS as their “own man” and is a frontrunner for the post of party president if the final decision is to go along with the older generation in the interests of unity.

As BJP sources pointed out, the second generation has several claimants for the top post and while general secretary and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Rajnath Singh is a favourite, he is still not a “certainty”. Ms Sushma Swaraj and Mr Pramod Mahajan are also in the running although the latter does not have the support of the RSS. Mr Venkaiah Naidu is functioning as the acting president for the present.

Also noticeable was the non-reaction from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi despite the strong support he has always received from Mr Advani. In fact, Ahmedabad became the seat of strong protest against the BJP leader with the VHP and others taking to the streets without a murmur of protest from Mr Modi and his colleagues. Former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha was, however, the first amongst the moderate BJP leaders to criticize his colleague and said, “I consider his remarks in Pakistan unnecessary and avoidable.”

The RSS, which has been worried about the “Congress-isation” of the BJP since the last years of the NDA government, is determined to regain a firm hold on the political party. Although RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav declared that the election of the president is an internal matter of the BJP, there were no two views in the party that the RSS leaders would play a crucial role in determining the new complexion, or otherwise, of the BJP. However, it was also clear from the initial response of the JD(U) that a hardliner favoured by the RSS could lead to a split in the NDA and the isolation of the BJP, taking it back to a pre-1998 position. The forthcoming elections in Bihar and other states are also a determining factor.—By arrangement with AsianAge/Delhi.