The BJP in Uttar Pradesh has finally found a scapegoat for the party’s debacle in the recent elections.
At a meeting of senior BJP leaders that continued till late on Wednesday evening, the party has conveniently blamed Babu Singh Kushwaha for the debacle.
Talking to this correspondent, a senior party leader admitted on Thursday that the induction of a tainted politician like Babu Singh Kushwaha had caused maximum damage.
“This was the common point in reports submitted by 27 different committees that had been set up across the state to analyse reasons for the party’s poor performance. The reports felt that the party lost its sheen by bringing a tainted leader like Kushwaha on board,” the party leader said. Some of the other factors responsible for the BJP’s defeat were delay in distribution of tickets and an apprehension among the voters that the BJP could opt for a post-poll alliance with the BSP.
Surprisingly, the leaders at the meeting did not believe that factionalism among the leaders was a major cause for the debacle. “Obviously no one is going to blame themselves for what happened and Kushwaha makes a convenient scapegoat because he is now in jail and cannot retaliate or defend himself. Even Surya Pratap Shahi, who was instrumental in getting Kushwaha into the BJP, agreed that the Kushwaha factor did the party in,” said another leader at the meeting.
BJP leaders also choose to ignore the fact that the party had faced a rout in places like Lucknow that were, once, considered to be a BJP stronghold. Kushwaha was not a factor in Lucknow and had not even addressed a single meeting or press conference in the state capital.
The meeting was attended by senior leaders, including Mr Kalraj Misra, UP in-charge Narendra Singh Tomar, national general secretary Ramlal, Sanjay Joshi and Surya Pratap Shahi. Most of the other leaders in the meeting preferred taking a quick nap instead of listening to the speeches. Ms Uma Bharti, interestingly, stayed away from the meeting for unexplained reasons.
The party has now decided to strengthen the organization at the grassroots level and regain lost ground in the upcoming local bodies’ elections.