Are Two Heads Better?

For the record, L.K. Advani has made it known that nothing has changed. Nothing except that he has been recast as deputy prime minister. But his new positioning has sent a signal to every BJP worker that Advaniji is there waiting to step in. For the last few months, there has been concern about Vajpayee’s health, so like any other organisation, a natural successor had to be appointed.

The timing of Advani’s appointment is regarded as crucial. The BJP has been going through a bad patch and many in the Sangh brotherhood have been advocating a larger role for him. Says a senior RSS leader, "We wanted Advaniji to become deputy PM long ago. But our request was denied."

While A.B. Vajpayee himself offered the line of least resistance, one of his aides is said to have suggested that two deputy prime ministers be appointed instead of one. That idea was shot down instantly. There are those in the PMO who feared that their authority might be corroded with the emergence of another power centre.

While there were others who argued that even Britain has a deputy prime minister, the powers of an office depend upon the man who heads it. And if Advani’s first few days as deputy prime minister are any indication, he is taking his job very seriously. He is already the main mediator in the Nitish Kumar-Mamata Banerjee spat about the Eastern Railway bifurcation. Many have begun to see him as the main man. "Advani is now the de facto head of the BJP. He will play a key role in keeping the hawks of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch at arm’s length whenever they bay for the NDA government’s blood," says an official.

Unlike previous deputy PMs, Vajpayee might put into place an institutionalised arrangement to enable his No. 2 to function. Advani himself has shown eagerness to strengthen his office by seeking the induction of additional officials. His office is already flooded with complaints falling beyond his ministry’s jurisdiction.

Advani has asked the cabinet secretariat to conduct a scrutiny of records to study the arrangement that prime ministers made when they had appointed deputies. Cabinet secretary T.R. Prasad has made a detailed presentation to the deputy PM. As of now, Vajpayee has handed over the coal and mines portfolio formerly held by Ram Vilas Paswan to Advani as a mark of his increasing strength.

The RSS has welcomed the home minister’s elevation. "We are happy with his appointment. It does not create another power centre," RSS spokesman M.G. Vaidya told reporters. Asked whether the RSS wanted Advani to occupy the top post, Vaidya said, "It is for the BJP and NDA to decide." One of the first things Advani did on his elevation was pay a visit to the RSS headquarters in Delhi’s Jhandewalan and hold detailed discussions.

But despite this, Advani’s new job is not clearly defined. As a deputy PM does not figure in any statute books or the Constitution, there are several things he cannot do. In Parliament, he has no role as it is only the prime minister who can intervene and reply. He has no special powers that he did not enjoy as home minister. Going strictly by the rule book, that is...