Joshi tries hard to shake off his old ‘has-been’ brand

However, with Vajpayee set for another term and the Hindutva offensive slowly replacing the NDA agenda, Joshi supporters feel it is time to set in place a strategy for the future. The three elements of the strategy are: reaffirming his Hindutva ideologue image, building a firm support base within the BJP, and networking with present and future allies.

The first element is the most important, sources said, because Joshi’s USP is that he is an unequivocal advocate of the Hindutva agenda.

With Advani periodically seeking to abandon his hardliner image by echoing Vajpayee’s moderation, the RSS rank and file feel Joshi is the only top leader who expresses their worldview with conviction.

An RSS leader said Joshi combined ‘‘scientific temper’’ with ‘‘religious fervour’’ and was the only minister in the Cabinet to consistently promote the saffron cause.

Joshi will be doing much more of that in coming days — he is going to Calcutta next week to address seminars, workshops, and meetings on the themes of “swadeshi”, “sanskar”, and Indian values.

This will be followed by visits to other states, not just to spread Hindutva but also to “revive his network of contacts”, sources said.

The former chief of the BJP, who was denied a second term that led to an enduring hostility to Advani, is also nurturing a band of close supporters in the party.

Most of them are not heavyweights today. They include Jana Krishamurthy, Kailash Joshi, Kalraj Mishra, Shanta Kumar and Karia Munda among others.

But, Joshi supporters argue, political fortunes have a way of changing and the fact that Joshi stands by his men even when they are out of favour guarantees a more loyal support base.

The third, and trickiest, element of the ‘‘Revive Joshi’’ plan is making him acceptable to the allies.

Joshi supporters insist that he has “very good relations” with Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and Om Prakash Chautala among others, and has of late established cordial ties with Jayalalitha (the VHP’s favourite Chief Minister.)

RSS sources confirmed that Joshi was ‘‘no pushover’’ and no matter how much mileage the Pramod Mahajans and Narendra Modis got in the media, Joshi remained a “serious contender” as a leader of the future.

But given his image of an obscurantist headmaster, RSS support in unlikely to be enough to make his dreams come true, many younger BJP leaders feel.