The Maharashtra BJP is not in favour of keeping senior leader LK Advani among the star campaigners for the state assembly elections to be held in October.
The Maharashtra BJP is not in favour of keeping senior leader LK Advani among the star campaigners for the state assembly elections to be held in October. The ongoing power tussle within the central leadership of the BJP has cast its shadow on the centre-state relationship of the party.
Not surprisingly, the political managers in the state have decided to revert to all-India general secretary Gopinath Munde and state BJP president Nitin Gadkari to shoulder the campaign responsibility. Also, they are expecting Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray to work magic through a joint public rally at Shivaji Park.
Officially, the BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, “A lot is being talked about the central leadership unnecessarily.” Another senior BJP leader said on condition of anonymity, “It’s nothing personal about Advani. We still have highest regards for him as our leader. But when we project the defeated leadership, it does not enthuse the cadre.”
Moreover, in the current situation we will have to look for fresh faces to re-establish the connect of the central leaders with the state politics. At an internal meeting between centre and state top leaders, it was conveyed that images of defeated and quarrelling leadership as key campaigners in state will not auger well for the image of the organisation.
Instead, the BJP leaders are working with the Shiv Sena to ensure at least one joint public rally takes place where Bal Thackeray will be the star campaigner. If health permits, he could make a personal appearance or it could be through pre-recorded videotaped address to the people at Shivaji Park.
Last fortnight, attempts were made by a section in the party to work with RSS to undertake the leadership change at the centre where it was felt that Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley should replace LK Advani and Rajnath Singh, respectively. But the process has been stayed, as it was felt that unceremonious removal of leaders would unsettle the equations in organisations across the country.
Undermining the intra-party issue, Munde said, “Am I not a senior central leader? We will work as a team in polls.”
A BJP general secretary said, “In the past, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani were portrayed as our tall leaders. But when it came to public connect, it was always Vajpayee who stole the thunder. Advani was more academic in his speeches. In last elections, our mascot was Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. In this election, we will chalk our strategy depending on the issues.”
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