New Delhi ,March 25: BJP president Nitin Gadkari is likely to reinduct expelled saffron sanyasin Uma Bharti into the party and appoint her one of its general secretaries.
With Tarun Vijay and Varun Gandhi already in and Ms Bharti likely to follow suit, it appears that Hindutva forces will dominate Team Gadkari. Ms Bharti’s reinduction is likely to make life difficult for senior moderate leaders like Arun Jaitley and M. Venkaiah Naidu and the slightly more combative Sushma Swaraj.
BJP parliamentary party chairman L.K. Advani, who could get into trouble over the deposition of an IPS officer in a Rae Bareli court on Friday regarding the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, has reportedly given the green signal to Ms Bharti’s re-entry into the party.
On Thursday, Ms Bharti formally resigned from the Bharatiya Janshakti Party, a political outfit that she had floated after being expelled from the BJP.
Speculation was rife ever since Mr Gadkari became party chief that he was trying to get hardliners back into the fold. But strong opposition from moderate leaders like Mr Jaitley, Mr Venkaiah Naidu and Ms Swaraj has held him back till now.
Sources said that after consultations with the top RSS leadership, including its chief Mohan Bhagwat, Mr Gadkari was trying to make Ms Bharti one of the party general secretaries. It may be recalled that even after the BJP had expelled Ms Bharti, the RSS continued to support her. The RSS mouthpiece Organiser had also attacked the BJP over the expulsion. But with the moderates calling the shots in the BJP till now, the RSS had failed to get Ms Bharti re-inducted into the organisation.
However, some BJP leaders feel that despite the RSS’ wishes, it might not be easy to get Ms Bharti rehabilitated, particularly in a senior position in the organisation, due to the continued opposition of certain senior leaders.
Sanjay Basak
