A defeated BJP may appear to have re-affirmed its faith in the leadership of LK Advani by making him the Leader of the Opposition again, but in reality, the party is showing signs of emerging from his shadow.

The appointment of Arun Jaitley as the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Sushma Swaraj as Advani?s deputy in the Lok Sabha mark a generational shift. Both leaders are younger to the outgoing leadership by 25 years. The process will be completed when a new president takes over some six months hence after Rajnath Singh completes his term. The two parliamentary appointments followed widespread consultations in New Delhi and Nagpur.

The Sangh Parivar is yet to reach a consensus on the name of the new party chief. True, the Parivar had earlier selected Rajnath Singh for the party?s presidency in the hope that he would take the BJP beyond the Vajpayee-Advani era. Vajpayee had gradually gone into retirement due to ill health; and Advani?s standing in the Parivar was dented due to the Jinnah episode. However, Rajnath Singh failed to assert his independence.

In the course of in-house consultations, general secretary Thawar Chand Gehlot, a confidante of Rajnath Singh, suggested an extension of two years for the incumbent suggesting that the party amend its constitution and provide for a five-year tenure for him. The suggestion was shot down by others, who argued that no other party had a five-year term for its president. There was a suggestion to make a comprehensive change ? in the organisational and the parliamentary wing ? in one go, instead of doing it piecemeal. This idea was also rejected by senior leaders.

Murli Manohar Joshi, who was the first to throw his hat in the ring when Advani expressed a desire to step down as the Leader of Opposition, reconciled to the impending generational change quicker than Jaswant Singh, who pressed his claim for the post of Leader of Opposition till the last minute. Singh, who has won from Darjeeling, argued that he had been the leader of the Opposition in the Upper House. At one stage, he threatened to quit his Lok Sabha seat. However, the Parivar saw no merit in considering individual adjustments when it was planning something long term.

The name of former minister Yashwant Sinha got into circulation for the post of Advani?s deputy, but he lacked support from those who mattered.

In the Rajya Sabha, former party president Venkaiah Naidu was considered a front-runner at the outset. An OBC, his appointment, it was argued, would achieve a much-needed social balance. He had an added advantage of being from the South. Advani, however, opted for Jaitley. His ability to articulate the party view in both English and Hindi was the clincher.

To be fair to Advani, it is he who has built the BJP?s younger leadership. All younger leaders, from the late Pramod Mahajan to Sushma Swaraj, Narendra Modi, KN Govindacharya and Arun Jaitley, owe their rise to Advani. But the question still is: do the latest appointments amount to a generational change? The answer is simple: Jaitley and Swaraj are required by the Parivar to lead from the front.

They have to demonstrate their ability to match the generational shift that is unfolding in the Congress. But this is just the beginning. A thorough organisational shake-up is in the pipeline. The Parivar has a very busy calendar six months from now.

Advani?s place as the family elder is assured. But as far as day-to-day matters are concerned, the buzzword in the BJP is ?change?.