Advani to resign, BJP all set for a generation leap - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

In what could be considered as a plan for the future, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to change the party's leadership. Senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, who is also the leader of opposition in Parliament, may resign on Friday from his post making way for Sushma Swaraj, and BJP President Rajnath Singh would hand over his office to Nitin Gadkari. This could be considered as a big generation shift in the BJP that is all determined to plan its strategies for the future. The BJP had suffered a debacle in the last general elections. The BJP Parliamentary board is scheduled to meet on Friday and Saturday. There are reports that BJP will probably decide on the 52-year-old Maharashtra BJP chief Nitin Gadkari as a replacement for party President Rajnath Singh. BJP spokesperson Prakash Javedkar said a final decision would be taken on Saturday at the party meeting. Maharashtra BJP chief Nitin Gadkari is an entrepreneur and considered to be a favourite of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat. The RSS chief had earlier expressed his opinion of having someone from outside Delhi to be the next party chief. 57-year-old Sushma Swaraj, deputy leader of the party in Lok Sabha, is likely to replace Advani. The RSS is keen to marshal youngsters in the party, which against the defeat the party witnessed in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Advani possibly will be made the Chairman of BJP Parliamentary Party, a post that will be created by amending the parliamentary party constitution. This seems to come as a relief for Advani. Advani had asked the BJP veterans to select a new leader of opposition. But the party had overlooked his demands and he was asked to lead from the front.