Advantage Advani Or Game Vajpayee?

Arnab Pratim Dutta July 29, 2002 00:00 IST Advantage Advani Or Game Vajpayee? -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

When L.K. Advani was elevated to the post of deputy prime minister, the political grapevine was rife with speculation that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would take the backseat. It was also predicted that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) would have a lesser role to play than before. If the political pundits were to be believed, this part-devolution of authority had left a beleaguered prime minister quite happy and relieved, if grudgingly so.

But contrary to this surmise, a senior PMO official told Outlook that Advani's elevation as deputy PM has been influenced more by political motives rather than the considerations of better work management. The anticipation that the deputy PM will be asked to deal with the weighty responsibilities of the prime minister has not been borne out. It is true that Vajpayee asked Advani to reply to the adjournment motion on Kashmir in Parliament but he has not been given any key areas currently handled by the PMO. In fact, three insignificant transfers of departments to the newly-created office is what the deputy PM has for now. In...