After the saffron party’s old guard had raised serious questions about the party’s functioning under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the wake of the Bihar poll debacle, speculation is rife within BJP c
After the saffron party’s old guard had raised serious questions about the party’s functioning under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the wake of the Bihar poll debacle, speculation is rife within BJP circles on whether Mr Shah will continue to head the party or a new face will address its next national executive meeting. For many in the BJP, the situation now is a repeat of 2013, when Nitin Gadkari had to resign as party president despite the RSS favouring a second term for him but a powerful section within the party opposing it.
Also, questions are being raised on when the RSS would get involved in the current crisis to pacify veteran leader L.K. Advani. Earlier too, the BJP has had to seek the RSS’ help to placate Mr Advani.
Rejecting the BJP parliamentary board’s line that there should be “collective accountability” for the Bihar poll defeat, veteran leaders L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Yashwant Sinha had demanded the fixing of specific responsibility for the debacle, and maintained that the BJP had been “emasculated” in the past one year and was being “forced to kowtow to a handful”. Finance minister Arun Jaitley met Dr Joshi on Thursday in an apparent bid to pacify him, but the minister’s office insisted that it was a personal visit.
The party also seems to be divided on whether or not to take action against the dissenters. Union home minister Rajnath Singh, sources said, is against taking any action against the dissenters as he feels the party veterans have experience and have contributed immensely to the party’s growth and their views should be heard.
But another senior minister, Mr Nitin Gadkari, coming out strongly in defence of Mr Modi and Mr Shah, had sought stringent action against those making “irresponsible statements” and causing damage to the party’s image. Former Lok Sabha deputy speaker and senior Jharkhand leader Karia Munda endorsed the elders’ views, saying that those in the forefront of the Bihar campaign should introspect seriously.
In a veiled attack on Mr Shah, Begusarai MP Bhola Singh said that “drunk in power”, the party’s top leadership was always seen “surrounded by sycophants”. He also said the Bihar results proved the Modi magic was “not durable”. Mr Singh, in whose constituency the BJP lost all seven Assembly berths, said: “The leadership should be one in which everybody has aastha (faith), which is lacking at present.”
Echoing what the party veterans had demanded, Patna Sahib MP Shatrughan Sinha tweeted Thursday: “Now that the verdict is out and we’re saddened by this humiliating defeat, we should not run away from fixing responsibility.” In another tweet, Mr Sinha referred to the veterans’ demand: “Right and high time to follow the friend, philosopher, guru, guiding light and his team of four. Relay race has begun. Gang of 4-Bang on target.”
In an interesting development, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s campaign manager Prashant Kishor on Thursday met former Union minister Arun Shourie, who played a role in drafting the BJP veterans’ statement, in which they had demanded a through review of the poll defeat and apparently attacked the top party leadership for destroying the consensual character of the organisation.
