In less than 24 hours, the initial excitement has given way to apprehension and discontent has started simmering in the UP BJP over the “superimposition” of Ms Uma Bharti in Uttar Pradesh.
Though party leaders did send out customary press statements welcoming the return of Ms Uma Bharti to the party, her new assignment in Uttar Pradesh seems to have started causing considerable heartburn among them.
Talking to this correspondent on condition of anonymity, a veteran BJP MP said, “I do not understand this new trend in the party. How can they superimpose a leader from Madhya Pradesh in Uttar Pradesh? What will happen if we send one of our leaders to take over Karnataka or Rajasthan? This is an insult to the state leadership and particularly to a senior leader like Kalraj Misra, who automatically becomes ‘jobless’ since his assignment has been given to Uma Bharti.”
The apparent removal of Kalraj Misra has also rankled the Brahmin lobby within the UP BJP. “With Misra at the helm of affairs, we expected to bring back Brahmin voters who had left us for the BSP in 2007 but now all hopes have been dashed. At best, we can hope to get back the 3 per cent Lodh votes because other OBCs consider Mulayam Singh Yadav a bigger OBC leader,” said a Brahmin BJP MLA.
Ms Bharti’s presence in UP could also mean the marginalisation of two other OBC leaders in the BJP — Mr Vinay Katiyar and Mr Om Prakash Singh.
Party leaders are also apprehensive that Ms Bharti would revive the Ram temple and lay emphasis on the Hindutva agenda thereby pushing back the good governance issue.
“Hindutva and Ram temple are no longer election issues and we will have to adapt to changing times and focus on good governance if the BJP wants to return to power in UP. However, with Uma Bharti, Hindutva is bound to dominate the scene,” said a party functionary.
Apart from this, most party leaders in UP BJP are apprehensive about Ms Bharti’s volatile nature and firebrand style of functioning. “She plays the game by her own rules and is not exactly known to carry everyone on board. This could prove a major disadvantage in an election year and could ruffle many feathers,” said a party functionary.
However, one major advantage that Ms Bharti brings with her to UP is her aggressive posture in politics.
“We need someone as aggressive as her to confront UP chief minister Mayawati and Uma Bharti has the guts to do so. At least, she will put the BJP firmly in the battleground and that will be a major morale booster for the party cadres,” admitted a senior leader.