|  In the nearly two years since he demitted office, Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been a rare public figure. But if proof was needed to show that the Vajpayee mystique endures, successive India Today Mood of the Nation polls have provided it in plenty. In May 2004, though the BJP-led NDA was ousted from power, Vajpayee's personal popularity at 54 percentage points was more than double that of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Early last year, a full year after he ceased being the prime minister, his popularity was five percentage points more than that of the UPA chairperson. Since then, he has conceded the lead to Sonia, but only just. In the north and the east, Vajpayee still remains more popular than Sonia. The same cannot, however, be said about the BJP, for which 2005 was a year that saw inner party crisis of unprecedented proportions, feuding state satraps and periodic skirmishes with the parent Sangh Parivar. On New Year's eve, L.K. Advani, who had led the party for 11 of its 25 years, stepped down as BJP chief for the third time, undoubtedly never to take up the reins again. While Advani's move was expected, it still has party cadres in a daze. More than a third of committed BJP voters feel his departure will adversely affect the fortunes of the party already stumbling from one crisis to the next.
-By Ashok Damodaran  | | SURVEY | | | 23% committed congress voters feel L.K. Advani's departure as party president will adversely affect the BJP. | RATE PERFORMANCE OF THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
AVERAGE 34
Poor 15
Good 23
Outstanding 2 All figures in per cent. Rest: Don't know/Can't say
| Impact of Advani's departure on the BJP
BAD 28
Good 13
No impact 21 All figures in per cent. Rest: Don't know/Can't say
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