BHOPAL: The Bharatiya Janata Party has met the demand of the Vindhya region by electing Girish Gautam as Speaker of the House. Gautam’s election has, however, intensified internal squabbling in the party.
After the decision to elect Gautam as Speaker, a legislator from Sidhi, Kedar Shukla, has opened a front. Shukla told media persons on Monday that the struggle would continue. The Vindhya region should be represented in the Cabinet. Kedar, who wanted to become Speaker, put up his demand for a Cabinet berth.
Former minister Rajendra Shukla, too, is unhappy. In the region, Shukla is the most important face of the BJP.
Gautam’s becoming Speaker has changed the power map and power politics in the Vindhya region will change. Gautam is a Brahmin leader and Ramkhilawan Patel, a minister of state, belongs to the OBC category. So, the BJP tried to give importance to both communities by electing Gautam as Speaker and Patel as minister of state.
The BJP’s organising secretary, Sardendu Tiwari, is a Brahmin, but the Thakur leaders of the region have been ignored. Former minister Nagendra Nagod and senior legislator Nagendra Singh Gurh are in the race for any post in the Cabinet. Both have demanded ministerial berths. A legislator from Singrauli, Ramlullu Vaishya, is also lobbying for a berth in the Cabinet.
The problem with the BJP is that the number of berths in the Cabinet is less than that of aspirants. So, it has become difficult for the party to satisfy everyone.
Exercises continue to elect Dy Speaker: The BJP is mulling over electing the Deputy Speaker. The post will go either to the Bundelkhand or to the Mahakaushal region. There are two contenders from Bundelkhand, Pradeep Laria and Harishanker Khatik. The party is holding discussions on the names of Sandeep Jaiswal, Ashok Rohani and Nandini Marawi from the Mahakaushal region.
