My political yatra will go on: LK

New Delhi, Dec. 18: The BJP leader, Mr L.K. Advani, replaced as leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Friday by his deputy in the Lower House, Ms Sushma Swaraj, claimed his political journey would continue.

“Meri rath yatra puri zindagi chalne wali hai. Main yeh nahin chhodunga (My political juggernaut will keep rolling. It will continue throughout my life).”

Mr Advani was appointed chairman of the BJP Parliamentary Party on Friday evening.

However, with Mr Advani shifted to looking after the party’s legislative affairs, the RSS exercise to take over the organisation will be put in full throttle after the formal announcement of Maharashtra state unit chief, Mr Nitin Gadkari’s name for the post of BJP chief on Saturday.

Mr Gadkari is the RSS’ candidate for the job. Sources disclosed that the RSS is apparently displeased with the decision to make Mr Advani BJP Parliamentary Party chairman. A senior RSS functionary revealed that the Sangh wanted Mr Advani to play the role of a “marg darshak (guide)” instead of continuing in active politics.

Yet Mr Advani went on to claim that his stepping down as Leader of the Opposition was “not the end of an era in politics but the beginning of a new chapter in my political life”. Sending signals to his detractors in the party, and perhaps in the entire Sangh Parivar, he

maintained: “If someone thinks that I will stop being in active politics and quit, he is wrong.”