The apologetic situation in which BJP leader Rajnath Singh finds himself today is, to a great extent, of his own making. In the words of BJP insiders who know him closely, "He has fallen in the hole he has for long been digging for his political competitors within the party."
Discussions with old BJP hands about the sudden dip in Rajnath's political fortunes – despite his stature as a former party president and the incumbent Union home minister – bring to mind the adage about the wrongs that men do often recoiling on themselves.
Rajnath's son Pankaj has had to face several embarrassing moments mainly because of the animosities that his father has cultivated over the years. First, he had to turn down the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president's post. In the 2007 UP Assembly election, his candidature was declared for Chiraigaon seat in Varanasi but he withdrew after stiff opposition from some UP leaders even though Rajnath was BJP chief at that time. He did not get the ticket from Noida that he wanted in the 2012 Assembly election, and now his name has been turned down for the Noida by-election, too.
Many in the BJP camp attribute the Thakur leader's present plight to his temperamental attitude and the way his politics has always revolved around crushing his political opponents and those he considered competitors. "He never made friends. Only enemies," quips a senior leader.
The list includes several veterans like former Lucknow MP Lalji Tandon, former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh, senior Kurmi leader Om Prakash Singh who happened to share his home turf (Mirzapur in east UP) with the big BJP boss, and former UP BJP chief and now Union minister Kalraj Mishra, who also comes from Varanasi in east UP.
BJP insiders point out that during his reign of about 17 months as UP chief minister between 2000 and 2002, he was consumed by hubris, acted like royalty and was surrounded by a caucus of Thakur leaders, largely ignoring state-level party leaders. Leaders from east UP were particularly out of favour lest they should grow in stature.
Party leaders also refer to specific instances when this rivalry became rather apparent and unseemly. For instance, when Lalji Tandon became Lucknow MP in 2009, he wanted the by-election ticket from the Lucknow seat he had vacated for his son. But, Rajnath Singh, then party president, got the ticket for a BJP rebel instead.
Rajnath, say BJP sources, was also opposed to Kalyan Singh's son being given a Lok Sabha ticket this time, as he was to Kalraj Mishra's inclusion in the Narendra Modi Cabinet. Rajnath also virtually bulldozed Tandon out of the way, announcing his decision to contest the Lok Sabha election from Lucknow even without consulting Tandon, the outgoing MP, who wanted to contest again.
"It is this history because of which today Rajnath ji even as home minister is not in a position to keep a PS of his choice, take any crucial decision in his ministry or further his son's political career," remarked a suspected Rajnath-baiter.
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