The Hindu : New Delhi News : Demand for BJP overhaul

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 02, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Demand for BJP overhaul

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI, JULY 1. With the humiliating defeat of its candidates in five of the six by-elections for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) earlier this week, the demand for an overhaul of the Bharatiya Janata Party's State unit has gained momentum.

Political observers feel that the morale of the party workers is at its lowest and there is a vacuum of strong leadership in Delhi. A demand is already being raised within the party to overhaul the State unit and give it a new face. Party men point out that ever since the splendid 1999 Lok Sabha election victory when the BJP swept all the seven seats from Delhi, the party has not won a single election for the past five years. The party lost badly in the 2002 MCD polls, then again got routed in the 2003 Assembly polls, and faced a near clear wipe-out in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.

Now the loss in the MCD -elections has left the party high and dry. This despite the fact that a number of leaders including the former Union Ministers, Sahib Singh Verma and Vijay Goel, campaigned for the party. Interestingly, the only seat the party won in the civic polls falls under the Parliamentary constituency of Mr. Goel. Allegations have been flying thick and fast about the failure of the State unit leadership to expose the misdeeds of the Sheila Dikshit Government and the Congress-led Central Government. "The prices of diesel, petrol and cooking gas were increased by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government after coming to power. The Sheila Dikshit Government increased the power tariff recently. This sentiment was not properly exploited by the State leadership indicating the loss of will to put up a fight,'' a senior party leader remarked.

A large number of party leaders alleged that they were kept out of the election campaign and never allowed to work for the contesting candidates. The candidates were left to fend for themselves in their constituencies and the single victory in Timarpur ward was a result of infighting within the Congress. Interestingly, the BJP candidate, Surinder Kumar, who won the lone seat for the BJP is a veteran Congressman who had left the party only recently after being denied a ticket. Holding a good reputation, Mr. Kumar also reportedly polled votes in the minority-dominated areas due to his personal rapport with the electorate there. Interestingly, the former BJP legislator from Trinagar and senior party leader, Nand Kishore Garg, was sidelined in his own constituency by the State leadership and instead the charge was given to another loser, Shyam Lal Garg, as a result the party lost in the Trinagar ward badly. A lot of questions are being raised over the ability of the present leadership to take on the Sheila Dikshit Government effectively and voices of dissent are already being heard for a change in the leadership.

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