There is a season for everything; and times look bad for the BJP

By O.J.George

The BJP at the national level is not thriving, and the only BJP government in the South, led by B.S.Yeddyurappa, is in the doldrums with infighting.

The party is yet to mollify Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the Opposition Leader in Rajasthan, who had been asked to quit following grievous rout in the Lok Sabha elections, and she demitted office belatedly seeking reinstatement at the Centre. The rapprochement is yet to come into being.

There are strong views within certain quarters of the party opposing continuance of L.K.Advani as Opposition Leader in the Lok Sabha as well as Rajnath Singh as BJP president. The present situation, appearing to be a solution, is that they will live out their respective terms and then burn themselves out.

RSS sarsanghchalak (supremo) Mohan Bhagawat has been of the firm view that there should be change of guard and younger blood should take over. However, he has not been game for imposing a leader for the BJP by the RSS. That stance is, in fact, noble, something not usually prevalent in outfits which have deep roots in the national social milieu.

Fair enough, but the party has not been able to revive itself by any means. Lately, Sushma Swaraj, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, who had sworn to shave off her head as a widow if Sonia Gandhi became Prime Minister even as she had secured people’s mandate, has now caved in and admitted to the fact that it is bad times for her party.

Elevation of Arun Jaitley as BJP parliamentary party leader in the Rajya Sabha has shattered some others like Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and the like. Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha are out of the party and Shourie is on the brink of falling off, unless he is offered something plum.

It is a sorry state of affairs that a party which had not any grips of governance in the South all these years, is letting go the opportunity provided by the people to govern them in Karnataka. Of course, B.S.Yeddyurappa had won the hearts of the people because he was let down by Deve Gowda by not supporting him as promised earlier for the second stint of governance last time. Gowda’s party enjoyed powers for the first half and then shunted him. The people did not forgive him for that and governance was offered on a platter to Yeddyurappa.

Now infighting has bedevilled the party and there is a clarion call for replacement of Yeddyurappa at the behest of Bellary brothers- Janardhana Reddy and Karunakara Reddy, who are mining magnates. Many of Yeddy’s rivals want Speaker Jagadish Shettar to be made the Chief Minister.

Talks by Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj, Anantkumar with various sections of the party leaders in Karnataka have not borne fruit. It seems the Bellary Brothers want the scalpel of Yeddy.