Bharati's move will certainly afford relief to Narendra Modi, but it might not have any immediate bearing on her desperate desire to return home, the BJP.
NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD: For the third time, Uma Bharati has changed her mind about contesting the Gujarat elections. On Wednesday, Bharati said that she would withdraw her candidates from the electoral fray.
Her latest volte face came two days after she declared that her nascent political outfit, the Bharatiya Janshakti Party, would provide a platform to the disgruntled BJP rebels in the assembly elections.
Bharati's move will certainly afford relief to Narendra Modi, but it might not have any immediate bearing on her desperate desire to return home, the BJP.
The reason for her belated realisation that she was strengthening anti-Hindu forces is that her spiritual guru, Pejavur Swami Viseshwar Teeratha, had urged her to withdraw from the polls.
Incidentally, Bharati chose to hurl all the anti-Modi barbs from Gujarat, but the announcement signalling her intention to join him was issued from New Delhi.
So was her statement declaring Modi to be her brother and senior BJP leader LK Advani her father figure. Faced with a near rebellion from the disgruntled BJP lot, she shot a letter to her Gujarat unit president Swami Chaitnya Maharaj instead of making an announcement before the media in person. Her letter said she did not want to harm the prospects of Modi and was withdrawing all her candidates.
However, her decision has upset her state unit. Maharaj and other candidates have rebelled against her and have refused to withdraw their candidature from the nearly 50 seats.
Maharaj issued a statement to that effect, but was unavailable on phone for further comment. BJP rebel leaders who had coaxed Bharati into coming to Gujarat with the support of VHP international secretary Pravin Togadia said that the maverick sadhvi had been bought over.
They claimed that the BJP has promised to seriously consider her for the chief minister's post in MP. “Uma's decision will have no bearing on the rebellion within the BJP.
Modi is simply trying to create confusion in the minds of voters to hold on to the Hindu votebank,” said rebel leader Suresh Mehta, adding: “But nothing will stop the rebels from contesting the polls.”
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