But it is perhaps a reflection on the state of affairs in the BJP that many still hark back to the glory of the Vajpayee days. With Rajnath Singh's presidentship proving lacklustre, the leadership crisis continues to torment the BJP. Vajpayee's face still dominates the media briefing room at the headquarters. And spokesman Prakash Javadekar says: "Atalji is still our most acceptable face. He is more popular than Sonia Gandhi. I don't think he has retired. He constantly guides us." Another senior BJP leader offers: "Advani may look fitter, but Atalji is more mentally alert. His responses are shrewd unlike Advani who has developed some fixations."
Consider the difference between the two. Advani has been shouting from the rooftops that he sees himself as a future prime ministerial candidate. Both the BJP and RSS have failed to push him into retirement. Vajpayee says he has retired yet gets active when he pleases, and calmly pushes the party into adopting certain postures. He still reserves the right to have the last word. He can retire when it suits him and come out of retirement when expedient!
In the midst of all this activity, Vajpayee calmly revealed to the world that he is writing his memoirs. As his six-year-long prime ministership had witnessed many dramatic events, speculation has already begun about what Vajpayee will reveal on sensitive issues. Did Advani scuttle the Agra summit? Who was responsible for the ham-handed handling of the Kandahar hijack? What did Vajpayee really think about Narendra Modi and the Gujarat riots? As a BJP leader quips, "Vajpayee can certainly embarrass Advani. But we know that he may or may not do that. We can only guess what he will write."
