Deepening troubles in state units cause jitters in BJP

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 12

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The BJP’s troubles appear to be increasing by the day. The pandemic period appears to have brought to the fore and underlined the simmering tensions and differences in party units in critical states—Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka.

With a new alliance headed by a former partner, Akali Dal, all set to challenge it in Punjab and the possibility of a grand alliance brewing at the national level, the saffron party’s problems may only be mounting. The meeting between political strategist Prashant Kishor and NCP chief Sharad Pawar has set off furious speculations of a non-BJP, non-Congress national front with regional satraps challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

While leaders dismiss the reports of “tensions, differences or fissures” in state units, including Gujarat—the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah—and Madhya Pradesh, the ‘garh’ (bastion) of Sangh and saffron politics, sources say “various factions are very much in action”.

Amid rumblings of intra-party conflicts and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani versus state president CR Patil in the Gujarat BJP, sources say some party legislators have been summoned to Gandhinagar on Tuesday. While leaders call it is a “routine affair”, the sources do not rule out the possibility of a cabinet rejig ahead of assembly elections, next year.

Meanwhile, in Karnataka, observers say the BJP may have managed to put a lid on the restiveness with a statement by general secretary in-charge Arun Singh that there is no move to remove Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, the “peace will not last for long”.

“They may have bought some time but the anti-Yeddiyurappa faction will mount pressure, again,” they say.

Likewise in Madhya Pradesh, the national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has publicly dismissed speculations and backed Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. However, rumour mills are working overtime as close-door meetings between Vijayvargiya, state minister Narottam Mishra, union minister Prahlad Patel and other BJP leaders considered opponents of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are “continuing”.

So far as Rajasthan is concerned, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has gone “missing” from a new hoarding at the state BJP headquarters, which now has photos of Prime Minister Modi, party chief JP Nadda, state president Satish Poonia and leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria.