It’s the right choice, BJP!
Updated On: 05 February, 2024 06:54 AM IST | Mumbai | Dharmendra Jore
The party’s masterstroke of Bharat Ratna for L K Advani caters brilliantly to a long-cherished wish of the Hindutva brigade, particularly in the run-up to the BJP’s campaign to regain the country’s throne
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L K Advani
KAR sevaks, who are now in their fifties and sixties, must have been very happy over the announcement that the country’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, would be awarded to the ‘field marshal’ of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement, L K Advani. Invited by the organisers, the veteran of Hindutva politics did not attend the consecration of the Balak Ram idol in Ayodhya late last month for health reasons. His absence did upset hard-core followers of the socio-political game that was played on the religious turf to completely change the Bharatiya Janata Party’s fortunes. As far as the civilian honour goes, the Modi government had, a few years ago, surprised its own party workers and the Congress by picking former President Pranab Mukherjee, a Congress-appointee, for the Bharat Ratna when it was expected to choose one of its own.
Many expected Advani to be the President, but that didn’t happen. And when murmurs that he has been unceremoniously sidelined again gained pace following the consecration in Ayodhya, questions were raised over the BJP’s handling of the old-timers’ sentiment that it was time the party returned Advani’s favour. The leadership did not disappoint. The Bharat Ratna for the former deputy prime minister caters perfectly to the long-cherished wish of the Hindutva brigade, particularly during the BJP’s run-up to a confident campaign to regain the Delhi throne with a record number in the Lok Sabha this summer. People in the BJP feel that Advani could just be the beginning as some more Hindutva icons, living and dead, need similar recognition.
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