September 12, 2013 / 08:26 IST
R Jagannathan
Firstpost.com
In June, Lal Krishna Advani got a wonderful chance to play elder statesman to the Bharatiya Janata Party-the party he built in the 1980s and 1990s. He flunked the test when he chose to play party pooper by staying away from the Goa meeting of the BJP national executive where Rajnath Singh anointed Narendra Modi as chief of the campaign committee. What should have been an invigorating moment for the BJP turned out to be an exercise in washing the party's dirty linen in public, crowned by Advani's famous
leaked resignation letter which ranted against unnamed persons who were "concerned just with their personal agendas." Presumably, that was an indirect attack on Modi.
This month, Advani gets a second chance to play elder statesman and make amends for June as the party gets ready to announce Modi as its choice for the prime ministership if the BJP wins the next elections along with allies. Will he play spoiler again? Will he place the crown on Modi's head himself or sulk in the shadows in the hope of undermining him at a later stage?
The RSS and the BJP are apprehensive about Advani's stand not because he is truly relevant to the party right now or because he can swing votes this way or that, but because no one wants a joyous ceremony to be reduced to ashes by giving the appearance of disunity. An internal battle of intrigue that only Advani is capable of engineering may not do him or his backers any good, but it will certainly provide momentary comfort to the party's enemies.
This does not mean Advani does not matter, or that his views on Modi are irrelevant due to the latter's growing popularity. It is precisely when power can go to an incumbent's head that he is in great need of saner counsel and advice. Advani can greatly strengthen both Modi and the BJP by not only backing him in this last stage before becoming the party’s mascot for the 2014 elections, but by offering to be there as a friendly advisor after that. A Modi with Advani's backing would be infinitely wiser than a Modi with no one to go to for advice.
Advani cannot do that if he chooses to play Shakuni. He has a choice between playing Shakuni, Bhishmapitamaha or even Krishna.
One can empathise with Advani if he feels bitter about not getting the top job despite being the prime architect of the party’s rise to power. His chances died in 2004 when the BJP lost power by choosing the wrong allies, and, more importantly, by losing badly in Uttar Pradesh. He got one more shot at power in 2009, but five years of great economic growth ensured the UPA a second term in power-and Advani looked like a relic from the past.
So, Advani can nurse some grievance against fate for passing him by, but he cannot pretend that Modi is the cause of his deprivation. Then or now. Atal Behari Vajpayee, if anything, was the bigger reason why he didn't get the top job in 1998, and defeat was the reason why Vajpayee could not hand down the crown when he was ready to retire.
But Advani will get one more shot at greatness-not by being a candidate for prime ministership himself, but by being a critical influencer in the process.
Great leaders are defined not only by achievement and success, but by how they conduct themselves in defeat or adversity, and how they choose to walk into the sunset finally. One can do it with dignity and poise, or one can exit with bitter lines and denunciation.
Advani’s time to walk into the sunset has come, but his role isn't quite over. It would be an entirely befitting achievement for him if he is seen as the synthesiser who helps the BJP come together as a party under Modi rather than someone who backs the wrong horse for reasons of his own pique.
The tragedy of the Bhishmapitamaha is this: he cannot change the course of history by backing the wrong horse in defence of some vague principle, but he can ensure that the right ideas win by backing them at the right moment.
Bhishma backed the wrong horse before the Mahabharata. Krishna backed the right one because he knew the consequences better. Consider how differently the war could have ended, and with much less bloodshed, if Bhishma had chosen to back the Pandavas. The war would have been won with lower casualties.
Advani's real choice is between playing Bhishma and Krishna. Even if he chooses to play the former, he cannot afford to repeat the Pitamaha's mistake. He has to make a better choice. He can give this Mahabharata a different ending. He should not forget that "Krishna" is his middle name too.
The writer is editor-in-chief, digital and publishing, Network18 Group 
