Gupta in saddle, dissent surfaces

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Though newly-appointed Delhi BJP chief Vijendra Gupta in his maiden press meet stated that his priority would be youth, the raging dissidence within the party ranks has come to the fore. Senior BJP leaders Vijay Goel,

Nand Kishore Garg and Jagdish Mukhi, who were also in the fray for the Delhi BJP chief’s post abstained from the function on Saturday to felicitate Mr Gupta.
Mr Gupta, when asked about the absence of the senior leaders on the occasion, remarked, “You do not find 100 per cent attendance in any class in any school or college, it happens”, while stressing that his efforts would be to have collective leadership and asserted that everybody would be taken on board in deciding party matters during his term to strengthen the organisation.
Playing down the reports of dissidence gripping the party after the announcement of his name as the new president of the city BJP unit, Mr Gupta stressed that the national leadership has already made clear its preference for young leaders.
Mr Gupta finally succeeded in getting the nod for the top party post in the capital after a series of meetings among party leaders, including L.K. Advani, national president Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar, Ram Lal and Thavarchand Gehlot on Friday.
Mr Gupta made it clear that he would organise the people against the ruling Congress government in the capital on issues like price rise and water shortage.
45-year-old Mr Gupta, councillor from Rohini, also took the opportunity to take a pot shot at chief minister Sheila Dikshit alleging that her dispensation has forgotten the basic responsibility of a government which is to serve the common people.
“My first message to the chief minister is to fulfil the basic responsibility of the government. Her administration has become very arrogant. We will not tolerate this,” he said.