Nazarwala
The cadres were confused and bewildered, and found absurd excuses to stay indoors in the scorching summer heat.
The Varun Gandhi effect was stunningly electrifying. Youthful Varun had a point of view. He articulated what many Hindus felt -- nothing wrong in that.
The opportunistic RSS/BJP bosses were in two minds. Mark their initial reactions and the subsequent ones. They wanted to reap positive benefits flowing from his statements and, yet, they were neither honest nor supportive for Varun when he faced criticism.
The unpalatable truth is that the Varun effect went a very long way in boosting the sagging BJP morale in UP. But for him, the BJP would have got fewer seats than the 10 they eventually got.
The man solely responsible for the BJP's humiliating defeat is Rajnath Singh. He was the party president with unfettered powers.
Shifting the responsibility for the BJP's all-India failure on Narendra Modi and cunningly escaping accountability by the national president is a move in that direction.
Rajnath is a highly ambitious and ruthless leader in a hurry. A pensive L K Advani owned up moral responsibility and refused to act as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. Rajnath was thrilled. He thought the decks had been cleared for him to take on that important role.
Unfortunately for the ambitious Rajnath, in comes his senior Murli Manohar Joshi. Rajnath's dreams got crumpled for the time being. Hastily, he rushed to Advani and manipulated things to keep Joshi out. A shattered 82-year-old Advani was a safer bet than Joshi.
