Meet the new BJP president
Rajnath Singh takes over the BJP's reins at a time when the party is definitely in the doldrums. He will need all the quiet organisational acumen he is known for. Or, as Vajpayee put it, the responsibility will become 'a crown of thorns'.
His ascendancy also puts the spotlight back on UP, the one state no party coveting national power can afford to ignore.
His well-timed Nyaya Yatra in the state, ostensibly to protest against the killing of a party MLA, gave him the right push towards the BJP's central post.
But to counter other second-rung BJP leaders, the erstwhile college lecturer from UP -- a father of two -- will need more than just yatras, or his penchant for promoting the Thakur cause in the caste-ridden politics of the Hindi heartland.
Add to that the task of balancing the RSS and the new, moderate BJP, and you have quite a job on your hands, Mr Rajnath Singh.
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