The Hindu : New Delhi News : Chinks in BJP armour visible

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Sunday, May 04, 2008
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New Delhi

Chinks in BJP armour visible

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

’Felicitation function a show of strength’

V. K. Malhotra, Harsh Vardhan did not attend
Arti Mehra, Vijender Gupta, others throw their weight behind him

NEW DELHI: Differences within the rank and file of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi came to the fore on Saturday at a felicitation ceremony organised by some senior leaders at Pitampura to honour former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Goel on his elevation to the post of national general secretary.

The programme is being seen by various political observers as a show of strength by the BJP leader who purportedly nurses the ambition to become the Chief Minister of Delhi but was sidetracked for the post of Delhi BJP president last year.

According to political observers, the felicitation ceremony clearly showed the divide in the Delhi BJP as neither South Delhi MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra nor party unit president Harsh Vardhan attended it. On the other hand, Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra, MCD Standing Committee chairman Vijender Gupta and general secretaries Pawan Sharma, Alok Kumar and Meera Kanwaria with their presence at the ceremony threw their support behind Mr. Goel, whose recent promotion in the party has also been seen as an attempt to woo the Vaish community back to the BJP fold.

Sources close to Mr. Goel insist that he has been awarded by the party high command for the work done by him both within and outside Delhi. Speaking at the “workers’ felicitation programme”, Mr. Goel expressed his gratitude to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior leader and prime ministerial candidate L. K. Advani.

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