by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Is the clock ticking for BJP ?
Ramdev dumps BJP, Apna Dal threatens, Zafar Sareshwala distances
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, Dec 26
There is no respite for the ruling BJP and suffering one set back after the other. If it lost a key Bihar ally last week-RLSP, today was the turn of Swami Ramdev who turned his back towards the saffron party. He declared in Madurai today that he won't support any person or oppose any party
and can't tell who will be the “Next PM”. Ramdev's comments appear to be a huge rebuff to PM Modi. He has been closely associated with the BJP, besides supporting its national election campaign in 2014. He said "Now the political situation is very difficult.”
Another shocker came from the Apna Dal in UP which is a key ally in the NDA. The party's chief Ashish Patel, whose wife Anupriya Patel is the Union Minister of State for Health, said BJP's partners in Uttar Pradesh are upset and the party must address the issue. He said in Mirzapur that the party must learn from its recent losses in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress formed the government. “ The SP-BSP alliance is a challenge for us. Allies in Uttar Pradesh are upset. Leadership at the centre must do something, else NDA (National Democratic Alliance) would suffer in the state," said Patel.
Obviously Apna Dal is also showing its teeth to BJP leadership with months to go for the 2019 general elections.
The biggest shocker of the day was Yoga teacher Ramdev, who went on to say that it would be difficult to say who will be the next prime minister. "Now the political situation is very difficult. We cannot say who will [be] the next prime minister or who will lead the country, but situation is very interesting..." Ramdev said in Tamil Nadu's Madurai.
"I am not focusing on politics," he said.
"We don't have a political or religious agenda but we want a spiritual country and a spiritual world. Through yoga and Vedic practices, we are making a divine, prosperous and spiritual India," said Ramdev.
What shocked the political watchers was Sareshwala's nuanced statement when he said, “I have been very closely associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nearly 13 years now. However, my association was always limited to PM Narendra Modi and was never with the BJP – in fact, I have never even visited the party’s office in Gujarat or in Delhi.”
Zafar Sareshwala said that BJP has lost the plot and “things are slipping out of Narendra Modi’s hands.”
ends
