DISSENT IN THE RANKS

THE BJP HAS FOCUSED ON ITS WEAKEST SEATS IN THE FIRST LIST, BUT EVEN HERE THERE IS A BACKLASH AGAINST HALF OF THE CANDIDATES, SOME OF THEM MPs

- Rohit Parihar

Vasundhara Raje was all over the news in mid-October. On October 15, the BJP leader and former chief minister had what the media called a ‘secret meeting’ with former rival and current Assam governor Gulab Chand Kataria at his Udaipur residence. Later, she even shared a ride with BJP president J.P. Nadda, who was also visiting the city. The official version is that the meetings were to discuss the party’s inability to create a prepoll wave in its favour, like it had in 2003 and 2013. The Kataria meeting, though, had evoked so much interest because very few from the Raje camp found a place in the party’s first list of 41 candidates for the assembly election on November 23. The disaffection seems to be widespread, for there were unexpected revolts in 20 places.

The BJP has given tickets to seven MPs, including Rajya Sabha member Kirodi Lal Meena. A party source says an internal survey had indicated that 10 of the 25 sitting MPs could lose the election if they were fielded again. This is perhaps what prompted the party to ask some of them to prove their worth in an assembly segment in their Lok Sabha seat. “This is a new-era party. Prove that you have what it takes or risk being discarded,” says a leader privy to the party’s strategy and inner discussions. It has fielded two former Union ministers and two former state ministers in tough seats, ones where the party has not fared well in the past decade.