Their methods might appear different but there were no differences between the two and Advani was always consulting the Prime Minister before initiating action.

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, did not attend either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha when the two Houses were discussing the most burning issue of the day, the Gujarat situation, following the move by the Narendra Modi government to seek an early election to the State Assembly even before the communal strife and its consequences had settled down. His absence was interpreted differently. Some read in it a message that the Prime Minister was not too happy with the move made by the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of seeking early elections when the world was criticising India for the communal strife in the State and also the refusal of the State authorities to resettle those who had lost their homes and properties. Hence, he conveyed his unhappiness by remaining away from the two Houses when they were discussing the Gujarat situation. Others felt that the Prime Minister allowed the Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, to fend for himself and the party since he had blessed the Gujarat Chief Minister and certified him as the most competent chief minister.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, inadvertantly revealed the shift of the centre of power within the NDA when he spoke at the National Executive of the BJP. He talked of the four phases of development within the BJP. It was a clear indication that he also thought that the Vajpayee era has come to an end with the third phase though he had to make an amendment later when Ananth Kumar told him how the media had interpreted his thinking placed before the Executive.

Both the messages would convey the sharp differences between the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. But sources close to the Prime Minister want to convince every one that he was tired and hence did not put in an appearance even at the Parliamentary party meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Protocol and propriety demanded his presence at the swearing-in ceremony of the President in the Central Hall, so he attended that function. The sudden death of the Vice President, Krishna Kant, and his funeral were also imperatives for him. His difficult walk and weary face clearly showed that he was too tired to perform physical functions.

There were no differences between Vajpayee and Advani because they have been working together for nearly four decades. No other team of two leaders has worked for such a long time in Indian politics. Their methods might appear different but there were no differences between the two and Advani was always consulting the Prime Minister before initiating action. Even the two faces that they have, one of a dove and the other of a hawk, were merely the imagination of fertile brains. It is essentially a difference in their style of perception and presentation. Both come to the same conclusions and decisions in the end. Why has the Prime Minister suddenly become weary since he elevated Lal Krishna Advani to make him the Deputy Prime Minister and allowed him full freedom to choose the team for the party in place of Jana Krishnamurthi and his team? The elevation of Lal Krishna Advani on the basis of the proposal made by the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, was a clear indication of the gradual retirement of the Prime Minister from the active political arena. It also signified the arrangements for the transition of the leadership as and when it became necessary. No one would miss the significance either inside the BJP or outside it. It would naturally spur the young aspirants within the Bharatiya Janata Party as well as in the National Democratic Alliance to switch their loyalties to the new emerging leader rather than remain with the old and retiring leader who was clearly showing signs of physical fatigue and weariness.

There have been such arrangements in six regimes in the past also where there were deputy prime ministers. Nehru and the Sardar team was in place from the beginning. The Indira-Morarji team was in place after a confrontation between them and an election of the Parliamentary party leader in January 1966 but it was not durable or smooth working. Indira Gandhi had the advantage of age over Morarji Desai, so loyalties did not change. In fact, Indira Gandhi had used the uneasy presence of Morarji Desai in her team to build and consolidate her base within the party that ultimately led to the great divide of the Indian National Congress in November 1969.

Morarji Desai was himself forced to appoint two deputy prime ministers, Jagjivan Ram and Charan Singh, after the turmoil within the Janata Party in 1978. The ambitions of Charan Singh brought down the Morarji Desai government. In turn, Charan Singh agreed to take Yashwantrao Chavan as his deputy prime minister but Charan Singh did not face the Lok Sabha even for an hour. Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Chandrashekhar had both accepted Devi Lal as the deputy prime minister in their regimes and both did not last long. The in-built confrontation between V. P. Singh and Devi Lal took a toll of the V. P. Singh government. And two Haryana constables caught at the All India Congress Committee office provided a cause, however flimsy, for the Congress Party to bring down the Chandrashekhar government. Thus, the six experiments of having a deputy prime minister were a clear indication of sharing power at the top.

The NDA did not have the second-in-command named officially though every one had assumed that Lal Krishna Advani would be disposing of the responsibilities as the second-in-command. In fact, he had also presided over cabinet meetings in the absence of the Prime Minister and had taken the momentous decision of imposing President’s Rule in Bihar after communal clashes in the State.

Even though Lal Krishna Advani was not officially named as second-in-command till July 1 this year, the BJP was clearly divided into two camps. One owed its loyalty to Advani and there were many who were attached to Vajpayee. Naming Advani formally as the deputy prime minister has radically changed the situation. The first sign of the fast-changing political equations within the BJP was available at the meeting of its national executive at Panaji when the Prime Minister was virtually compelled to give up his insistence for the resignation of Narendra Modi holding him responsible for the communal carnage in Gujarat. Advani differed sharply, for he felt that Narendra Modi had handled the situation competently in the State and should be allowed to go to the people and seek a fresh mandate. The overwhelming majority in the executive endorsed his view. The Prime Minister revealed the fact in the Rajya Sabha, a little later in the last days of the budget session that he had made up his mind to remove Modi but the overwhelming majority in the party had a different view. Since the Panaji session, developments within the BJP were rapid. The controversial report on the health of the Prime Minister in Time magazine in its June 17 issue was also a part of these developments. The advisers around the Prime Minister resisted the move initiated by Defence Minister George Fernandes that Advani should be officially named the deputy prime minister. The advisers around the Prime Minister could visualise that this would not be merely a sharing of power and authority between the two offices. It would have been sharing only if the Prime Minister was in full command of his physical condition. Then, there was also the stark reality that the face and charisma of Vajpayee had failed to garner votes for the BJP in State after State in the Assembly polls in the last three years. It certainly would tempt the younger generation within the party to look to returning to the corridors of power through a new leader. The age and physical factors would influence all those who mattered once a new leader emerged on the political scene within the party.

The switch of loyalties would be quick and sudden. Every one would be lining up at the doors of the Deputy Prime Minister rather than rushing to the residence of the Prime Minister as they used to for the last four years. Their fears have come true as the line-up at the doors of the Deputy Prime Minister and the desolate looks of the lawns of the official residence of the Prime Minister indicate. One prominent columnist has come up with an explanation that the Prime Minister was not tired of any one or any issue. He was merely tired of the unnecessary details that ensued after important decisions. Hence, he had decided to leave domestic affairs in the hands of the Deputy Prime Minister while he attended to important international issues. Therefore, he would now resume his efforts to normalise relations between India and Pakistan since the United States of America and Britain were building up pressure both on India and Pakistan to resume the dialogue.