Shimla: "Advanji was in a jolly mood," quipped Rajnath Singh. And on the face of it, the BJP's three-day chintan baithak in Shimla has indeed ended with relief.
Rebel Jaswant Singh has been banished. And the demand for a change in leadership has been silenced. "There will be no change. Advani will lead us," asserted Singh, the party president.
The clouds seem to have passed for other senior leaders as well. Nobody has been asked to accept the blame for the party's poor performance in the elections. An internal report had blamed BJP stalwarts including Advani and Narendra Modi for tactical and other mistakes which alienated both voters and party cadres. After initially denying the report exists, the party now acknowledges a less formal version of it. Singh says, "Yes, states were asked to give suggestions. They were noted in a diary but never a draft was created."
That's about as much closure as the BJP will get for its past. Now, its leaders say they're looking ahead. Acknowledging that it sounded shrill about terrorism in its campaign for the general elections, the party now plans to be "a constructive Opposition" on terror and other issues.
Forward planning includes re-establishing its connection to its old voter base -- the middle class. Party ideology will be presented simply to voters. But the party's self-described biggest task is to end its public infighting. Accepting that its current image is that of a group at war with itself, the BJP will now try to speak in one voice. And on Friday that voice came in the form of Sushma Swaraj, who said, "Advani's opinion is that we come across as a party in complete disarray".
The BJP's parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, has repeatedly said it would like to see younger leaders taking over the BJP. That wish isn't about to come true. For now, perhaps wishing to avoid a succession war, the party has chosen to stay with a veteran at the helm.