The Bharatiya Janata Party is neither confused nor annoyed with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) after its chief Mohan Bhagwat recently stated in an interview that the next party president would not be from among the four central leaders Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar.
Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar did not see this as interference or a cause for annoyance or confusion. He pointed out that Mr. Bhagwat repeatedly said that the BJP would take its own decisions.
Mr. Javadekar emphasised that the RSS and the BJP were part of the “same ideological family” and the Sangh was a “power generating house” for all the RSS affiliates, including the BJP. .
The RSS chief has recently said that he was told by BJP leaders that their choice of a new party president after the tenure of current president Rajnath Singh would not be from among the four central leaders.
However, although Mr. Javadekar said on record that Mr. Bhagwat’s comments were not taken amiss, privately party leaders admitted that what the RSS chief said certainly eroded the authority of the central leadership.
While Mr. Rajnath Singh and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani were being seen as moving towards the exit door, Mr. Bhagwat successfully brought down the stature of the other four central leaders.
