Fly on the wall
Unheard Bitter Battle Begins in BJP
The last word on the bitter battle between the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the BJP high command is yet to be written. The bitterness seems to have reached at a new level where there is no one-to-one conversation, it transpires.
Yogi was in Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog meeting and it was expected that he would meet the leaders of the party high command including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president J P Nadda. Since there is no communication between Yogi and the two Deputy Chief Ministers; Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, it was expected that he would seize the opportunity to restore order in his state. But nothing of the sort happened. On the contrary, a video went viral showing lack of cohesion in the party. J P Nadda had called a meeting of party Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers to be addressed by the PM and other leaders. The video showed that Yogi did not wish Union Home Minister Amit Shah with “Namaste” when he passed by. Rather, Yogi was seen welcoming Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with complete humility and courtesy. He did not wish J P Nadda either, at least the video showed. It created a stir of sorts. Yogi quietly returned to Lucknow without any one-to-one meeting with Central leaders. This is unheard of in the party with a difference and never seen before. The last word on this bitter chapter is yet to be written.
Maurya fires another Salvo
It
is not as if the BJP high command had not been gunning for Yogi's
head for the past quite some time. But the plan could not succeed as
the “Bulldozer Baba '' has a constituency of his own not only in
the state but the country as well. When the BJP ended up winning just
33 seats out of 80 in the Lok Sabha in June parliamentary polls, the
high command reportedly started exploring the possibilities of
getting rid of him. It saw an opportunity in the defeat in UP. It was
expected that Yogi would take the moral responsibility of the defeat
and offer to resign. But nothing of the sort happened. Rather, he
told the party leaders that tickets were distributed to non-deserving
candidates in disregard to his recommendations. In a way, he passed
the buck at the door step of the high command itself. Obviously, he
was in no mood to quit. Within days, Yogi's arch rival and Deputy CM
Keshav Prasad Maurya started making comments in the media that “No
individual is bigger than the Party” without naming Yogi. He along
with Brajesh Pathak did not attend any of the meetings called by the
Chief Minister either. The day Yogi returned to Lucknow, Maurya fired
another salvo by holding a meeting with top police officials
including DG, Police and others without informing the Chief Minister
to launch a drive against corruption. Maurya doesn't hold the Home
portfolio and it is held by Yogi. It is said that this is the latest
googley to provoke the Chief Minister. The BJP high command's dilemma
is how to make Yogi quit rather than sacking him. It is aware that
many of the OBCs in UP had deserted the BJP and Dalits' support is
also dwindling. The high command doesn't want to sack Yogi as it may
have serious political consequences. It is in search of a winning
formula in UP without Yogi and hence this delay. Until then, Maurya
will keep one salvo after the other.
Rahul Gandhi having good fun & run
The BJP leadership seems to have changed its stance towards Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha which has baffled political analysts. It transpires that PM Modi has desired that Rahul Gandhi be allowed to have his say during the Budget session and the party should wait for the right opportunity to strike back. Secondly, the BJP has yet to come to terms with the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls and should devote time on evolving a right strategy to win the Assembly polls due in Maharashtra, Jharkhand & Haryana this year end. The BJP leadership is aware that its political supremacy will be re-established only after winning at least two of these three states at the hustings. It is not clear what it will do in Jammu & Kashmir. But winning two states including Maharashtra is a must. Therefore, the ruling BJP is more accommodative towards Rahul Gandhi and waiting for a big mistake by him as he is still learning the ropes.
Tailpiece: Among the battery of Union Ministers who have been inducted in the NITI Aayog, the only relevant missing name is of Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Many wonder Why!
