BJP president Nitin Gadkari’s recent statement that four senior leaders would lead the party’s campaign from the front in Uttar Pradesh has generated a new controversy in party circles.
Mr Gadkari, during his recent UP visit, had said that Mr Rajnath Singh, Mr Kalraj Misra, Ms Uma Bharti and Mr Surya Pratap Shahi would lead the party’s campaign in UP. The statement is being seen as an indirect projection of these four leaders as the party’s chief ministerial candidates.
“The BJP president has conveniently ignored OBC and pro-Hindutva leaders like Vinay Katiyar, Hukum Singh and Om Prakash Singh. This is a jolt to the party’s Hindutva plank because barring Uma Bharti, the remaining three leaders are known as moderates when it comes to Hindutva,” said a party leader.
Interestingly, even the VHP is upset with Mr Gadkari’s statement and senior VHP leader Purshottam Narain Singh said in an interview given to a Hindi daily that the VHP would ‘forget those who forget Lord Ram’. He further advised the BJP leadership to remain loyal to its ideology.
The OBC leadership in the state BJP is also visibly upset at the manner in which OBC leaders are being sidelined by the party’s apex leadership.
A senior OBC leader said that leaders like Mr Hukum Singh, Mr Om Prakash Singh and Mr Vinay Katiyar had been ignored during the recent Jan Swabhimaan Yatras led by Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Misra.
“This is a clear signal that OBCs do not figure in the party’s schemes for the future. If this is true, then why should OBCs vote for the BJP?” the leader said.
Party cadres are equally upset at the fact that Varun Gandhi, the sole youth leader in the party who is a major crowdpuller, has not been made a part of the two yatras.
“Every single party is pushing forward its young generation in these elections but we are leaning on 60 and 70 year olds. Mr Varun Gandhi is a charismatic leader but it is obvious that a section of our leaders are apprehensive of his popularity. They are not pushing him back, they are pushing the BJP back,” said a young BJP MLA.
Meanwhile, a BJP leader denied reports of dissent and said that OBCs had no reason to grumble because Uma Bharti was not only a OBC leader but also known for her firebrand Hindutva leanings. He, however, drew a blank when asked why the party was depending on Ms Bharti when it has its own OBC leadership in UP.