Marg Darshak Mandal off the BJP's radar?

Over seven months after the BJP formed the Marg Darshak Mandal (guidance committee), a question mark still hangs over its relevance. The five-member panel exists neither in the party constitution nor in practice.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were dropped from the party's Parliamentary board last August and inducted into the newly created "Marg Darshak Mandal". The other two members of the committee are Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh.

While the ailing Vajpayee has completely retired from public life, Advani and Joshi are Lok Sabha MPs and have been regularly attending Parliament and party meetings, though silently. The BJP is yet to take advice from the two "marg darshaks (mentors)" on any crucial issue or call a meeting of the panel, according to sources.

As the party constitution does not have any provision for a Marg Darshak Mandal, its duties are not defined. However, the committee figures on the BJP website. Similarly as per the party constitution, the Parliamentary board has the powers to regulate the activities of the legislative and Parliamentary activities of the party and guide in the formation of the ministry. "The Board will discuss and decide any policy pursuit or policy change which has not till then been adopted by the party. The Board shall have power and authority to regulate and guide all the organisational units below the national executive," according to the party constitution.

The document defines the responsibilities, functions and composition of the team of party office bearers and all organisational units including the national executive, the central election committee, state committees, state executive, national council, Morchas and cells.

Advani and Joshi, both of whom have been party presidents and held crucial portfolios in the Vajpayee government, are members of the national executive.

"It is not necessary for the committee to be a part of the Constitution. They are seniors who have guided the BJP to where we are today. Those who are running government and party have learnt from the seniors in the marg darshak mandal and we keep looking at them so that the ultimate goal of Deendayal Upadhayay is achieved," said BJP national secretary and spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh.

BJP sources insist that the party avails of the guidance of the senior leaders when necessary. But, Advani's silence at the recently concluded party national executive in Bengaluru had triggered speculation that he was upset about not being consulted even on matters like Delhi elections and Jammu and Kashmir government formation. With his decision against making a speech what he may have said is now but guesswork.

A generational shift is natural in any party, but what is understood to be hurting the veteran leaders is that they are not even being consulted as mentors, a role the party itself has assigned to them by inducting them into the guidance committee.