Vajpayee had indeed attracted many liberal individuals but the inherent contradictions were badly exposed in the 1984 polls and the BJP was left with just two MPs. The RSS, which had sensed a silent pro-Rajiv Hindu wave, quickly replaced Vajpayee with the hardliner L.K Advani. Two decades on, Advani, after several ups and downs, met the same fate - this time with a decisive blow. After experimenting with bouts of liberalism in 1977, 1980, 1989 and 1998, it is now the rebirth of the old Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Mohan Bhagwat looks determined to re-mould the BJP as the old, closely-nit BJS.

However, most of us have missed the RSS bosses' core message. His aim is not Advani's exile as such but the exit of Advanism which is characterized by mindless pursuit of power, acute factionalism, patronage-driven cadre handling and degeneration of political morality. A whole generation of power seekers has grown up during the two wretched decades of satta parva. RSS insiders say Bhagwat's objective is not limited to making the BJP Hindutva-compliant. That is only one aspect. He is also determined to reintroduce the old Jana Sangh culture of mutual consultation and joint decisions and thus turning the BJP back into a 'party with a difference'.

The next few months will show what shape his dream project will take and how he is going to impose his will on a crowd obsessed with power. But let there be no doubt, the RSS parivar is united on the ongoing restructuring and reform programmes for the BJP. And there is not going to be any protest from the BJP leaders. Skeptics within the BJP will rather wait and make the best out of the opportunities. The parivar's reform package is not going to end with the ouster of Advani and Rajnath Singh. For the RSS, this is cosmetic. More important is the restoration of the old organizational work culture.

Nitin Gadkari is not going to be just another boss. Instead, his task will be to evolve healthy personal equation among the leaders and institutionalize an honest consultation system. Crucial policy shifts will be effected only after taking senior leaders and the parivar into confidence, not on the advice of some outside bright boys. In internal discussions, Bhagwat himself has made it clear that the RSS is not against alliances or coalition. And the BJP will be allowed reasonable elbow room to manoeuvre. While much of the reform package may still be in the making, what is clear is that the RSS is ready for a long haul.

Can the RSS really bring back the Jana Sangh culture in BJP? That is going to be an area where Bhagwat will flounder. Bhagwat himself was just 22 when the Jana Sangh was disbanded. Until 1998, BJP headquarters had Sunder Singh Bhandari, Kushabhau Thakre, Malkani, Govindacharya and J.P. Mathur who had a frugal life style. Now that the political operators and power brokers inundated the ascetics during the satta parva, even an avtar will fail to revive the lost culture. Long years of power worship have put the BJP in the forefront of every kind of political scandal - from cash-for-query to smuggling out immigrants.

After the Liberhan debate in Parliament, Congress rivals as well as the NDA allies have made some quick calculations about the new BJP's electoral capabilities. An overwhelming view is that the party's total Hindutvisation will not make much difference in its traditional strongholds like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and UP. Here the old Jana Sangh itself had a good record. More or less similar is the position in Gujarat and Karnataka, the BJP's post-Jana Sangh acquisitions. This is because except Karnataka, bipolar politics dominates in this belt.

Elsewhere in the south, toxification of BJP has little electoral relevance. In Andhra Pradesh, TDP has already kept off BJP. In Maharashtra, the issue is how to cope with Shiv Sena's new parochialism. The Akalis have an altogether different kind of politics. JD(U) is the one ally that is worried about the happenings in BJP. It will be interesting how Nitish Kumar will tackle the problem as and when it confronts him in Bihar. More than dealing with the NDA allies, the new BJP is confronted with a much bigger worry.

Can the BJP retain the existing material support system so assiduously built by Advani even after his exit? Few in parivar and the BJP seem to have thought of it yet. After the Ayodhya agitation reached a plateau in 1992, Advani's wiz kids had realized that the BJP needed a three-pronged game plan to emerge as a national alternative to the Congress. First was to groom a super leader with an Indira-type halo as the main vote catcher. The whole Vajpayee project that began in 1996 was about this. The second was to get the business patronage for the BJP as a reform-friendly party ready to dump its Gandhinagar economic thesis.

Soon business associations and individuals found the BJP as a responsible party worth taking the rein of power in Delhi. At one stage, BJP had got more business donations than the Congress. This also helped the BJP to get adequate media coverage despite the 'Swadeshi Jonnies'. Much of BJP's rise in the second half of 1990 can be attributed to this triple advantage. Since then visiting dignitaries had made it a point to meet Advani. The trend had continued even during the nuclear deal negotiations. This elite recognition has been the main factor that had attracted the aspiring middle classes and IT crowd towards the BJP. Incidentally, much of this floating consumerist crowds have already switched their loyalty to the present PM.

BJP leaders routinely complain about the diminished business support and media 'distortions' after Advani's marginalisation since 2005. Throughout his two-decade reign, Advani had carefully cultivated the media. This week, diplomats of the EU countries had a special session with Bhagwat whom they consider the real face of the BJP. We do not know how he responded when he appeared before them in full suit. But no support comes free. And loss of business and media back-up will be a bigger hurdle for the new BJP than retaining the NDA. (IPA Service)