The major cabinet reshuffle affected in the last-week of January by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was merely one more instalment in the process of reinventing the Bharatiya Janata Party. The process was initiated on the day the National Executive of the party had met at Panaji in April last year. It was a crucial meeting because of the confrontation within the party over continuation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in office in view of the severe criticism of the party over the failure of the Modi government to contain the communal carnage for weeks together.

The Prime Minister had decided to ask Narendra Modi to step down. In fact, he had even asked the then Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, to obtain the resignation of Narendra Modi and present it at the National Executive Committee. However, the tide turned at the Panaji meeting when the overwhelming majority in the party executive, manipulated by Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani, overruled the Prime Minister and had even asked Modi to go to the people and seek a fresh mandate. The Prime Minister had even told the Rajya Sabha during the debate over the Gujarat carnage that he had made up his mind to ask the Chief Minister to quit but the overwhelming majority ruled just the opposite.

The Prime Minister did not fight back and insist on the resignation of Narendra Modi. Probably he had seen the odds loaded against him or perhaps, he did not intend to take on senior leader Lal Krishna Advani by making the dismissal of Narendra Modi a prestige issue. He had known that he would not get support from within the party and those who could have supported from outside were of no consequence. Chandrababu Naidu did make noises but to no avail. So he caved in to the pressure and allowed Narendra Modi to continue in his game plan.

Thus, the process of reinventing the party had begun then because the Vajpayee government was hemmed by compulsions of coalition. Other partners could and would not allow the BJP to grow on its own. They insisted that the Vajpayee government must function according to the set agenda of the Common Programme that was the basis of the formation of the National Democratic Alliance.

The coalition politics was a necessity of the Bharatiya Janata Party to take the reins of power in its hands at New Delhi. Without support from several regional parties, it was not possible to remain in office. The point had gone home when Vajpayee had to step down after 13 days in office in May 1996. The dependence on the regional parties to retain power also put the party in a straitjacket. It became a major obstacle for the expansion of the geographical reach of the party. That the regional parties would not allow the BJP to grow in their areas of influence was obvious. Any attempt to climb over their shoulders would have pushed the National Democratic Alliance to certain collapse.

Not only had the compulsions of coalition politics affected the geographical reach of the party, the leadership’s incapacity to win State after State in the Assembly polls had also shown up the major drawback from which the party was suffering. It was obvious that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who had contributed largely to the grand success of the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, was not able to pull in votes for the party in the State Assembly elections. The last straw on the camel’s back was the results for the Assembly polls in February last year. The BJP or its allies could not win back a single State. The failure to win back Uttar Pradesh was a serious setback for the party. Hence the process of reinventing the party with a new formula and new leadership had become a dire need. The foundations of the process were thus laid in the Panaji conclave of the party that took place after the State poll results of February 2002. The next step was to hand over the reins of the party to a younger generation while there were two years for the older generation to guide, train and groom the young and test out their qualities and abilities. The old man, Jana Krishnamurthi, was told to make way for a younger man to take over the party. It was unusual for the BJP to change horses in midstream. The young team was entrusted with party work. Though Pramod Mahajan’s name was also considered then for the take over, he declined at that stage to become the party chief.

The next step was the elevation of Lal Krishna Advani as the Deputy Prime Minister. By this step, the party had tested the grounds for the acceptance of Advani as the alternative to the Prime Minister by the NDA. An illusion had prevailed that Advani would not be acceptable for the NDA and others because of his hawkish image. By elevating him as the deputy to the Prime Minister, a clear signal was shown that the BJP had decided on alternative arrangements for the leadership. There was not much of an opposition to the idea from outside the BJP. The BJP perceived the lack of opposition as no objection to Advani taking over the reins in case there was a need for such a take over.

The wider change in the Council of Ministers was one more step in the direction of revamping the party and preparing it for the generation change. Four members have been shifted for party work. Four others have been dropped and a few have been shifted from one ministry to another. The major change was in shifting Pramod Mahajan.

There are various interpretations of the shifting of Pramod Mahajan from the ministry to party work. He had proved his mettle by his handling of Parliamentary Affairs during difficult times. He had also proved his ability as a minister in expanding the telecom network in the country. By all counts, he was a successful minister though his handling of the recent telecom controversy did invite some criticism within the higher circles. The Prime Minister would have and should have preferred to retain such an able hand near him when several others have been found wanting in ability and efficiency. Yet, he has been shifted while several inefficient persons have been retained.

Some have seen it as his demotion because he had become controversial. It was said that Advani insisted for the scalp of Mahajan since the latter was perceived to have played a partisan role in the stand-off between the mobile phone operators and others. His high-flying life style had also come into the limelight. However, such interpretations do not answer a question. If he had become controversial, why shift him from the ministry to the most important post in the party where he would be under the constant gaze of the visual media? If Advani wanted him out, then why did he agree to Mahajan becoming the main spokesman of the party and face the cameras every day especially when the crucial State Assembly elections in several States are due in the next 15 months? The general secretary of the party is an important assignment and is not a backwater for the person assigned to it.

It stands to reason that he had not invited the wrath of the supreme leaders of the party as was being interpreted by many. On the contrary, he has been shifted to party work with a deliberate and careful thought and plan in mind. Arun Jaitley, who has been functioning as a high profile general secretary for the last six months, has been credited with a major part in the BJP victory in the Gujarat Assembly elections. He was also too close to the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. He would have ensured that Narendra Modi who was merely a sidekick of some important leaders of the party till the Godhra incident and his solution for the tragedy, should rise in the national party hierarchy and politics by proving that he was also a poster boy of the party in other States as well. But Pramod Mahajan would not fall to such a demand, as Arun Jaitley would have. Hence, it is the removal of Arun Jaitley from the important party post that demands a political and careful interpretation.

That raises doubts about the new role that the party high command would assign to Narendra Modi in the State polls in the coming months. Modi might have endeared himself to the rank-and-file in the party but he has been seen as a villain in other quarters, particularly in the international comity. Several nations have reacted sharply to his handling of the situation in Gujarat during those fateful weeks. He did succeed in turning the situation in favour of the party with his kind of campaign trail. But that does not turn him into a darling for the international comity. The BJP-led government at New Delhi can not afford to give an open impression that Modi would be allowed to run riot in other States also during the State polls by using and exploiting his mantra. But the bare essentials of his mantra would definitely be used by the party during the State polls. That is why shifting Arun Jaitley from the key party position and bringing in Pramod Mahajan in his place holds a political significance.

Pramod Mahajan’s new assignment is certainly an important and politically significant move by the BJP high command that its two leaders who have been running the show for the past 25 years cannot be expected to continue for ever. Instead of compulsions of the needed change knocking them over, they decided to effect the change in a controlled manner.