Express News Service
BHOPAL: Fear of internal sabotage in next assembly polls and big-ticket switch-overs to the opposition Congress, seems to have prompted the ruling BJP to depute its senior leaders, including two union ministers into pre-emptive damage control exercise in Madhya Pradesh.
Eyeing to retain power with a clear majority, the state party has tasked 14 senior leaders, including two union ministers – Narendra Singh Tomar and Faggan Singh Kulaste – to meet and pacify disgruntled leaders across the state.
Each of these 14 leaders, that also include BJP parliamentary board member and ex-union minister Satyanarayan Jatiya, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, ex-state president Dr Prabhat Jha, senior MP minister Gopal Bhargava and former ministers Jaibhan Singh Pavaiya, Rajendra Shukla and Maya Singh, have been tasked with covering 2-4 districts in the 52 districts-strong state.
The state BJP leaders are terming the exercise as a planned move to give a proper hearing to one and all within the party (particularly former lawmakers and ex-party organization office bearers). However, informed sources within the saffron party have confided to this newspaper that the move has a multi-pronged motive, including preventing the possibility of internal sabotage in polls due to the denial of tickets to existing legislators or refusal of tickets to those aspiring to contest polls for long.
The move has particularly been necessitated by two BJP leaders, including ex-MP Makahansingh Solanki and Rao Yadevdnra Singh Yadav (son of ex-MLA Rao Deshraj Singh Yadav) joining the Congress last month and specific inputs of about three neta-putras (sons of senior BJP politicians) and some sitting and former BJP MLAs being on the radar of the Kamal Nath-led party.
The three neta-putras who are being keenly eyed by the Congress, include former CM Late Kailash Joshi’s son and ex-MP minister Deepak Joshi, former state finance minister Jayant Malaiya’s son Siddharth Malaiya and former forest minister Dr Gauri Shankar Shejwar’s son Mudit Shejwar.
Former minister Deepak Joshi, when contacted, didn’t rule out making a major political announcement after the Karnataka polls. The three-time former MLA from Dewas district, said, “If the party doesn’t find me competent enough for being assigned something important in the state in the coming weeks, then I will take major political decisions after the Karnataka polls are over.”
BHOPAL: Fear of internal sabotage in next assembly polls and big-ticket switch-overs to the opposition Congress, seems to have prompted the ruling BJP to depute its senior leaders, including two union ministers into pre-emptive damage control exercise in Madhya Pradesh.
Eyeing to retain power with a clear majority, the state party has tasked 14 senior leaders, including two union ministers – Narendra Singh Tomar and Faggan Singh Kulaste – to meet and pacify disgruntled leaders across the state.
Each of these 14 leaders, that also include BJP parliamentary board member and ex-union minister Satyanarayan Jatiya, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, ex-state president Dr Prabhat Jha, senior MP minister Gopal Bhargava and former ministers Jaibhan Singh Pavaiya, Rajendra Shukla and Maya Singh, have been tasked with covering 2-4 districts in the 52 districts-strong state.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The state BJP leaders are terming the exercise as a planned move to give a proper hearing to one and all within the party (particularly former lawmakers and ex-party organization office bearers). However, informed sources within the saffron party have confided to this newspaper that the move has a multi-pronged motive, including preventing the possibility of internal sabotage in polls due to the denial of tickets to existing legislators or refusal of tickets to those aspiring to contest polls for long.
The move has particularly been necessitated by two BJP leaders, including ex-MP Makahansingh Solanki and Rao Yadevdnra Singh Yadav (son of ex-MLA Rao Deshraj Singh Yadav) joining the Congress last month and specific inputs of about three neta-putras (sons of senior BJP politicians) and some sitting and former BJP MLAs being on the radar of the Kamal Nath-led party.
The three neta-putras who are being keenly eyed by the Congress, include former CM Late Kailash Joshi’s son and ex-MP minister Deepak Joshi, former state finance minister Jayant Malaiya’s son Siddharth Malaiya and former forest minister Dr Gauri Shankar Shejwar’s son Mudit Shejwar.
Former minister Deepak Joshi, when contacted, didn’t rule out making a major political announcement after the Karnataka polls. The three-time former MLA from Dewas district, said, “If the party doesn’t find me competent enough for being assigned something important in the state in the coming weeks, then I will take major political decisions after the Karnataka polls are over.”
