It was the tough stand of the Kerala unit of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that forced the BJP’s national leadership to give P.S. Sreedharan Pillai a second chance to lead the party in the State.
After the unceremonious removal of Kummanam Rajasekharan from the post – he was later made Governor of Mizoram – the RSS State leaders had pulled all the strings to ruin the chances of K. Surendran, a protege of former State president V. Muraleedharan, from being elevated to the post.
Multiple meetings held between the RSS State leaders and the BJP’s Central leadership ensured that the post went to a person percieved to be “neutral” between the two dominant factions in the party led Mr. Muraleedharan and former president P.K. Krishnadas. At the same time, Mr. Pillai is ready to fall in line with the RSS diktat.
Sources said that one of the factors that annoyed the State RSS leaders was the belief that a coterie involving Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP’s national joint organising secretary B.L. Santosh had played a role in the removal of Mr. Rajasekharan to facilitate the anointment of Mr. Surendran later. Subsequently a report submitted to the national president Amit Shah to nominate Mr. Surendran was apparently rejected.
Then the national leadership had two choices – Mr. Pillai and the R. Balashankar, former Editor of Organiser weekly and at present convener of the BJP’s Intellectual Cell – on their minds for the post that remained vacant for more than two months. However, Mr. Pillai got an upper edge with a Union Minister supporting his candidature by pointing out that he could be instrumental in quelling the factionalism in the State unit of the party and galvanise the rank and file for the Lok Sabha elections next year.
The power struggle between the RSS and the BJP has been existing for quite some time ever since the party gave precedence of nominating the State presidents. But this time the RSS leaders categorically stated that its cadre would remain inactive if their suggestions on the State president’s post were not considered.
Sources said that the RSS had a love-hate relationship with Mr. Pillai when he was at the helm of the party unit during 2003- 2006. But these equations have changed ever since the RSS thought to cut the Muraleedharan faction down to size.