It's not just the Congress which is in a mess. The BJP looks a bit like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. The Jharkhand botch-up was followed by a rash of factionalism in Rajasthan as an ill-conceived political yatra aimed at challenging former CM Vasundhara Raje precipitated a crisis. Not one to take things lightly, Raje threw a fit with 50-odd MLAs “quitting” in support. The Rajasthan and Jharkhand events were preceded by a premature announcement that the BJP will not supporting either of the Congress’s reported options Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari for president. This proved a serious miscalculation as ally JD(U) dissented, suggesting it will go its own way.
Party leaders put down the setbacks to a combination of factors from oneupmanship among BJP brass, a party president curbed by party seniors, half-baked RSS interventions and headstrong satraps sensing in a weak Centre lending scope for unilateralism.
Voter mood can occasionally boost the BJP, as it did in Delhi’s civic polls. But allies like the JD(U) are looking beyond the NDA, calculating benefits of doing so. And, the BJP can’t forget how BJD chief Naveen Patnaik’s desertion in 2009 had scuppered L K Advani’s campaign.
Party leaders put down the setbacks to a combination of factors from oneupmanship among BJP brass, a party president curbed by party seniors, half-baked RSS interventions and headstrong satraps sensing in a weak Centre lending scope for unilateralism.
Voter mood can occasionally boost the BJP, as it did in Delhi’s civic polls. But allies like the JD(U) are looking beyond the NDA, calculating benefits of doing so. And, the BJP can’t forget how BJD chief Naveen Patnaik’s desertion in 2009 had scuppered L K Advani’s campaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment