L.K. Advani’s declaration that he would take out yet another Rath Yatra, this time against corruption, manifests that he has not given up his political ambition even though he has already celebrated his 84th birthday. Will the BJP project him as Prime Ministerial candidate in the run up to 2014 general election? The young leaders in the BJP, particularly Narendra Modi, may not like the idea because the Gujarat Chief Minister is himself an aspirant for the PM’s post.

Advani has RSS support of this Rath Yatra but one wonders if it will back the octogenarian leader for the country’s top executive post? Modi is a towering leader in Gujarat and he is unlikely to allow anyone, including Advani, to get more prominence than himself. Even though Advani’s proposed Rath Yatra is against rampant corruption, he will find it difficult to cope up with unbridled graft in the BJP-ruled states.

While Advani may be expected to engage in berating malaise of corruption tolerated by the UPA government, he will have to put up a brave face about rampant corruption in states like Karnataka and Uttarakhand. The spread of corruption is being talked about in some other BJP-ruled states too. As the idea behind Advani’s Rath Yatra is to harness the Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign to the party’s own cause, it will be interesting to see how Advani goes about obscuring corruption in BJP-run states while highlighting UPA’s lapses. A section in the BJP is worried that Advani may project himself as the party’s next Prime Ministerial candidate.

Advani’s Rath Yatra on Ram temple issue that gave him instant glory 21 years ago, may not evoke the kind of response of the same magnitude on the corruption issue. He wants to use same technique to mobilize people on anti-corruption plank, which he wants to usurp from Anna Hazare campaign. He is unlikely to succeed in the way he had succeeded on Ram temple issue this time.

It may not be a co-incidence but September 25 is the anniversary date of Advani’s grand Ram Rath Ratra taken out in 1990 from Somnath to Ayodhya. A couple of days after September 25, the auspicious period of Navratri will begin and it may not come as a surprise if Advani’s Rath rolls out around that time.

Gujarat BJP leaders say it had been a custom for Advani to visit Gujarat every year on this anniversary. Any reference to Rath Yatra and Advani immediately revives the memories of the phenomenal yatra exactly 21 years ago in 1990. From Somnath to Ayodhya, the yatra was doubtless a defining point in the modern history of Indian politics, as it changed the course of BJP. The response then was unbelievable. He was at the peak of his popularity.

No other yatra, even Modi’s Gaurav Yatra, has got that much response. The entire country was caught in a frenzy on the issue of Ramjanmabhoomi. Modi accompanied Advani through the yatra. The yatra catapulted the BJP to power later. In addition to gaining power, the yatra consolidated the party as the biggest political party.

Before that, the party was not that organized. It gave our leaders the confidence and the cadres an expertise in organizing such events. However, now the situation has changed. Narendra Modi is a towering figure in Gujarat and he is unlikely to allow anyone, including Advani, to get more prominence than himself. Majority of Advani’s loyalists (MLAs and MPs) have been denied tickets even though they were considered strong candidates. Late home minister Haren Pandya was among them. (IPA)