Who will succeed Advani?

The blame game has begun. For the BJP, now there is the dual challenge of keeping its allies happy, and finding a new leader.

Says senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi: "If I am given the responsibility then I will not refuse."

Says Sushma Swaraj: "I will not agree to this myself because I can't imagine being the Leader of the Opposition while Advaniji is still around. Everything besides this right now is hypothetical."

There are other names being discussed too: Rajnath Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh.

But the successor will need the RSS's stamp of approval. In the past 24 hours, the BJP and Sangh leaders have held several meetings, and not just to discuss the next Leader of Opposition.

There are other issues and other changes that the party now can't avoid.

When asked if it was time for the BJP to think young, RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav replied:

"It is definitely time to think, think of what all issue is for them to decide. But yes party has to give serious thought to various aspects of organisation, its agenda, its functioning, it influence, all these aspects."

What about younger look?

"You see, when I say agenda, agenda and organization include everything, what points they want to highlight, what they want to say to the people, what is the face of the party."

Clearly, the changes are inevitable now. But it is equally clear that before the changes can be implemented, various factions in the Sangh Parivaar will have to be pacified. And yet at the same time, the parivaar will need to appear united while it reinvents itself.