New Delhi: A sensational secret has been revealed from the history of Indian politics. In 2002, preparations were underway for a reshuffle in the Prime Minister’s seat. The shocking revelation is that a plan had been hatched to make Atal Bihari Vajpayee President before Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, and to appoint LK Advani as Prime Minister in his place.
This political development has been revealed in the book “Atal Memoirs,” by Ashok Tandon, Atal’s media advisor. According to Tandon, a demand arose from within the BJP to shift the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-Advani duo to these two top positions of power, but a decision by Vajpayee himself prevented this entire “plan” from being implemented.
It should be noted that Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was elected the 11th President of the country in 2002 with the support of both the then-ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition. He served in this position until 2007.
Ashok Tandon, who served as the former Prime Minister’s media advisor from 1998 to 2004, writes that Vajpayee flatly rejected the suggestion that he should move to Rashtrapati Bhavan and hand over the Prime Minister’s post to his successor, L.K. Advani.
According to Tandon, “Vajpayee was not ready for this. He believed that it would not be a good sign for Indian parliamentary democracy for any popular Prime Minister to become President on the strength of a majority. It would set a very bad precedent, and he would be the last person to support such a move.”
Tandon writes that Vajpayee invited leaders of the main opposition party, the Congress, to build consensus on the presidential position.
He says, “I remember Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee, and Dr. Manmohan Singh visiting him. Vajpayee officially revealed for the first time that the NDA had decided to field Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as its presidential candidate… There was a moment of silence in the meeting. Then Sonia Gandhi broke the silence and said she was surprised by his choice.”
Tandon recounts several other events during Vajpayee’s tenure as Prime Minister and Vajpayee’s relationships with various leaders. On the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-Advani duo, he writes that despite differences on some policy issues, the relationship between the two leaders never soured publicly. According to Tandon, Advani always referred to Atalji as “my leader and source of inspiration,” and Vajpayee, in turn, referred to him as his “steadfast companion.”
He writes, “The partnership between Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani has been a symbol of cooperation and balance in Indian politics. They not only built the BJP but also gave a new direction to both the party and the government.”
When the terrorist attack on Parliament occurred on December 13, 2001, Vajpayee and Sonia Gandhi, then the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had a phone conversation. At the time of the attack, Vajpayee was at his residence, watching the security forces’ operation on television with his colleagues.
Tandon writes, “Suddenly, I received a call from Congress President Sonia Gandhi. She said, ‘I’m worried about you. Are you safe?’ To which Atalji replied, ‘Soniaji, I’m safe. I was worried you might be in Parliament… Take care of yourself.'”
