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BJP infighting continues
Priyaleen K Renuka

India's right wing party that dreams of turning the entire country into a monolithic Hindutva nation and is way out of step with social and economic realities is now tearing into itself. The annual budget exercise was an occasion when the party's internal squabbles seem to have grown into full fledged fights.

For the last five years, the economic experts of the BJP, Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh, have been the party's main face in budget discussions in Parliament. This time, party's leader in the Lok Sabha, L K Advani, did not even invite them to discuss how to formulate the BJP's reaction.

Clearly, there is a move to sideline the three as they were also the leaders who voiced loudly their criticism of the way the party's election campaign was run. Advani was not very happy at these leaders for leaking critical missives to him to the press and their targetting of the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley.

The scenario is also getting more murkier because of the way the BJP has dug itself into a corner on the Varun Gandhi issue. After Varun's rabid anti-Muslim speeches, and later the line that the CD was doctored, many leaders feel the party should not have to tell lies on behalf of Varun.

Now, examination of the tapes have proven that these were authentic, and the voice was that of Varun Gandhi and there were no signs of tampering. On top of that, the BJP has lost the election, faring badly in Uttar Pradesh, and some of its MPs and candidates have openly blamed Gandhi’s speech for the “tactical consolidation” of the Muslim vote against the party. Now the BJP is realising that Varun is less of an asset and more of a problem.

Will the revolt in the BJP explode in a full frontal war is something only the coming weeks will tell.

15 July  2009
 

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