Elders seek accountability for loss
BJP veterans openly raised a banner of revolt against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah regime over defeat of the party in the Bihar Assembly polls, demanding fixing of responsibility for the second back-to-back electoral drubbing after Delhi.
For the first time since Modi came to power last May, L K Advani, M M Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Yashwant Sinha issued a signed statement on Tuesday, refusing to accept BJP Parliamentary Board’s assessment that winning or losing was a “collective” effort. “To say everyone is responsible for defeat in Bihar is to ensure no one is held responsible. It shows those who would have appropriated credit if the party had won, are bent on shrugging off responsibility for the disastrous showing,” it said.
Party leaders suspect that veterans like L K Advani were waiting for an opportunity to take on the ruling duo ever since they were sidelined. The new regime first denied them opportunities in the government citing the 75-year age bar and later removed them from active party politics by elevating them to “margdarshak mandal” created to guide the party. No meeting of the mandal has taken place so far.
Party sources said they were expecting something similar from veterans after Delhi polls rout but it did not happen as the Delhi outcome was attributed to Arvind Kejriwal wave where blaming a particular leader was out of question.
The veterans have now pounced on the top brass when they are on a weak footing. Party sources said some of the leaders who were making statements against the government-party leadership have been associated with Advani camp. That includes MP Shatrughan Sinha, Sudhendra Kulkarni and Chandan Mitra. Former Union minister Arun Shourie, who has been vitriolic in his attack on the leadership, and Kulkarni are no longer party members.
“No lesson has been learnt from the fiasco in Delhi,” the statement by veterans read.
The chasm between Advani and Modi dates back to the days when the BJP patriarch had openly opposed the former Gujarat chief minister’s elevation as party’s PM candidate. However, the then BJP chief Rajnath Singh had announced Modi as 2014 Lok Sabha election mascot, ignoring the dissent.
For the first time since Modi came to power last May, L K Advani, M M Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Yashwant Sinha issued a signed statement on Tuesday, refusing to accept BJP Parliamentary Board’s assessment that winning or losing was a “collective” effort. “To say everyone is responsible for defeat in Bihar is to ensure no one is held responsible. It shows those who would have appropriated credit if the party had won, are bent on shrugging off responsibility for the disastrous showing,” it said.
Party leaders suspect that veterans like L K Advani were waiting for an opportunity to take on the ruling duo ever since they were sidelined. The new regime first denied them opportunities in the government citing the 75-year age bar and later removed them from active party politics by elevating them to “margdarshak mandal” created to guide the party. No meeting of the mandal has taken place so far.
Party sources said they were expecting something similar from veterans after Delhi polls rout but it did not happen as the Delhi outcome was attributed to Arvind Kejriwal wave where blaming a particular leader was out of question.
The veterans have now pounced on the top brass when they are on a weak footing. Party sources said some of the leaders who were making statements against the government-party leadership have been associated with Advani camp. That includes MP Shatrughan Sinha, Sudhendra Kulkarni and Chandan Mitra. Former Union minister Arun Shourie, who has been vitriolic in his attack on the leadership, and Kulkarni are no longer party members.
“No lesson has been learnt from the fiasco in Delhi,” the statement by veterans read.
The chasm between Advani and Modi dates back to the days when the BJP patriarch had openly opposed the former Gujarat chief minister’s elevation as party’s PM candidate. However, the then BJP chief Rajnath Singh had announced Modi as 2014 Lok Sabha election mascot, ignoring the dissent.
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