Ravikiran has an interesting analysis/question on the succession issue… err… he wonders who is going to succeed Advani. His dilemma (?) if I understand correctly, is based on the premise that Advani will be the unanimous choice for the PM’s position after Vajpayee. Ravi takes a brief look at the possible choices from the second rung of leadership, and I concur with him on that. But the first rung still has a strong contender in the form of Murli Manohar Joshi the current HRD minister. He is known to have his way around, much like Advani, with his decisions.

About a year ago, I read the same doubts raised by some newspapers: the contention between Advani and Joshi for the PM’s chair. In fact, if rumours are to be believed, there’s supposed to be an Advani Camp and a Joshi Camp within the party; I agree that you cannot build a case based on rumours, but real-life happenings are also indicators of this. The case of Ananth Kumar is an example. Ananth Kumar traditionally stuck with Advani; from his plum post of Tourism Minister to a vague ministry (don’t even remember its name), he was thrown back to Karnataka for “party work.” Of course, non performance was one of the real reasons, but the other reason was the intense lobbying from the Joshi camp.

Given this background, it remains to be seen if Advani gets selected unanimously, or face a contest with Joshi. Of course, despite this, he might win.

That’s why I’d say, the real question is: after Vajpayee who?