Advani makes way for Sushma Swaraj

Advani, whose new position will be more of a ceremonial one, also re-nominated Arun Jaitley leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha. Jaitley  will, therefore, continue as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Party president Rajnath Singh was also expected to step down from his post on Saturday, making way for Nitin Gadkari. Immediately after quitting the post, Advani spiked speculation that he might quit active politics. “If they think that I will quit activeness and politics, then it is all wrong. I think I became a rath yatri at the age of 14 when I was just out of the high school and became a swayam sewak. This rath yatra would go on for life,” he said.

“It is not an end of an era. In my life and politics, this is a new chapter,” Advani said immediately after relinquishing the position in the Lok Sabha.
“There is no political party in India which has set up such a strong base (as BJP) in so few years,” Advani said. “Even now, we are ruling eight states, out of which we have our own government in six.”

The changes in the party structure comes at a time when the BJP is undergoing a lot of inner churning following its drubbing in the last Lok Sabha elections, including an unprecedented public fighting between groups within the party.
Advani’s decision comes in the backdrop of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s suggestion sometime back that there was a need for a generational change in the party.

With the elevation of Swaraj, the position of deputy leaderhas fallen vacant. The post is expected to go to HN  Ananth Kumar, Gopinath Munde or Shahnawaz Hussain.