New Delhi, June 17
Despite trying to right historical wrongs, the BJP refuses to learn from its second worst defeat in UP after 1969. Instead of a thread-bare discussion as demanded by the outgoing state party chief Kalyan Singh, the BJP will listen to a lecture by eminent agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan at its national executive meeting on July 24-26.

The BJP’s crushing defeat in UP is not on the agenda and the recently appointed observer for UP Arun Jaitly will not even be present at the meeting as he is away to the US for a holiday. According to a senior UP leader, “Last we heard UP was still a part of India. The refusal of party president Rajnath Singh to accept responsibility for the party’s abject failure by not even putting it on the agenda is symptomatic of a party in a denial mode.”

Party president Rajnath Singh in consultation with former party president L.K. Advani decided the agenda for the national executive. The desire to pass the buck and assume “collective responsibility” was also decided by a small coterie.

The fear the some senior leaders like Kalyan Singh, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, who campaigned in UP only once, may not toe the line and ask uncomfortable questions about the UP and Goa defeat led to the strange decision to take it off the agenda.

Despite repeated attempts by the Tribune, Rajnath Singh was not available for comment. Says a senior leader bitterly, “This is the new Congress culture of the BJP where all debate and discussion is stifled and a closed group imposes decisions.”

The same group, which some erstwhile Pramod Mahajan acolytes have also joined, decided that the lecture was the perfect innocuous sounding excuse to prevent any blood-letting on UP.

Rajnath Singh stoutly refuses to accept any blame despite having been UP CM and saying on record that “he, as a bridegroom, will bring the bride of power via Lucknow to Delhi.”

“What collective responsibility?” asked other senior leaders, “when we were not even consulted?” Sources say that Rajnath Singh’s reliance on a group of Thakur leaders and the alliance with Apna Dal cost the party at least 30 seats. His own personal assistant Khadak Singh contested on an Apna Dal ticket.

BJP leaders have been ascribing a number of reasons for BJP’s poor performance. Sections of the Dalits were upset ever since Rajnath Singh played a lead role in toppling the Mayawati government. This time around, Brahmins were also upset when Rajnath Singh, mid-way through the campaign, announced that Advani was the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. Asked a senior leader, “What was the need to make that announcement in the midst of an Assembly election?”

The BJP was also seen to be cozying up to Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh. Putting Venkiah Naidu and Anath Kumar in-charge of the state also looks like an odd decision in hindsight, as local leaders saw them as outsiders and refused to cooperate. “All this is being swept under the carpet and the usual suspects are in charge even for the Shekhawat campaign for President,” said a senior leader.

Sources say the RSS is upset with the party’s abject defeat in UP. With the Gujarat elections in December and Jaitly being divested of his charge as Gujarat “prabhari”, it has reasons to worry. The last word goes to a senior leader, “We have had national executives where trivial and personal matters became vital issues. It now seems that we don’t have time even to discuss defeat in the most important state.”

The writer is an anchor with Janmat TV who writes for The Tribune.