The Hindu : National : Uma Bharti likely to be accommodated in Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

National

National

Uma Bharti likely to be accommodated in Delhi

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party has more or less made up its mind to set its house in order in Madhya Pradesh by sending general secretary Shivraj Singh Chauhan to Madhya Pradesh as the party's State unit president to replace the current State chief Kailash Joshi, whose tenure is coming to an end.

At the same time, there is considerable speculation that the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, may be "accommodated" at the party headquarters here to "get her off the back" of Chief Minister Babulal Gaur, who had replaced her after her resignation following charges against her in the more than 10-year-old Hubli case, but which were later dropped. If Mr. Chauhan is moved to Madhya Pradesh there will be two vacant positions of party general secretaries. One was never filled up. It was meant for Ms. Bharti but after the flap between her and the former party president, Venkaiah Naidu, during her "tiranga yatra' and later her open defiance of party chief L.K. Advani, she was kept waiting.

Part of the Madhya Pradesh "package" could include giving the charge of Madhya Pradesh affairs to Mr. Joshi. Now, the charge is with general secretary Arun Jaitley, but it is felt that a political heavyweight like him is not needed there as elections in the State are three-and-a-half years away. There are also indications that all may not be well in the relationship between Mr. Advani and Mr. Jaitley, from whom the charge of Assam was recently taken away.

Senior party leaders said that a decision on the changes in Madhya Pradesh had virtually been taken but Mr. Advani was perhaps waiting for the right time to make the announcement.

However, as yet there is no word of changes in Gujarat where they are due. The factional feud between supporters of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his detractors led by the former Chief Minister, Keshubhai Patel, has led to a situation in which no consensus is emerging on a new State party president to replace the current incumbent, Rajendra Sinh Rana. His tenure has ended.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National