By announcing his new team, BJP president Nitin Gadkari has set off some amount of heartburn and resentment in the party.
On Thursday, filmstar-turned-MP from Patna, Shatrughan Sinha, openly expressed his displeasure calling it “old wine in new bottle”. Without naming anyone, he said some of those inducted into Gadkari’s team could have been avoided.
For the record, Sinha refuted suggestions that he was a contender for any post. He felt that senior leader and former Union minister Yashwant Sinha should have been included with an eye on Bihar assembly elections due in October this year.
“Bihar polls are crucial for the party’s future, yet a leader of the calibre of Yashwant Sinha has been kept out. Some of the people who could have been avoided were taken at the cost of some of the most deserving people,” he said. Sinha was also reportedly upset at the prominent position given to Ravi Shankar Prasad in the new team both as a general secretary and chief spokesperson of the party.
“I have always treated Gadkari like a younger brother and friend. Nevertheless, the composition of the new team, personally speaking, is unfortunate and I am quite unhappy.”
Sinha claimed that the team was constituted without consulting “people like Sushma Swaraj and some other top leaders”. Sinha is not alone. Several other leaders are upset at what has essentially turned out to be a balancing act for the party president. Shahnawaz Hussain was tipped to be a secretary, but was made one of the seven spokespersons at the last minute.
Leaders from Uttar Pradesh are upset that not a single person from their state has been made a general secretary.
On the other hand, Gadkari has strategically kept two posts of vice-president vacant at the moment. Sources say Yashwant Sinha and disgraced former organisational general secretary of the party, Sanjay Joshi, are the main contenders for the post.
Comments