GANDHINAGAR : The political bloodletting, a hallmark of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s unswerving sway over the party and government in Gujarat, continues unhindered at the national level with the BJP s prime ministerial aspirant purging all ‘opponents’ in the selection of candidates.
It is an abject reminder of how Narendra Modi weeded out competition at the state level in Gujarat
Like in Gujarat, Modi has been ruthless in imposing his stamp over the national party. Keen to be perceived as a man in command, he is enjoying the unswerving support of the RSS and has moved with lightning speed to eliminate opponents, making them pay the price for slights both real and imagined.
No wonder then that one time Gujarat BJP president and sitting MP from Bhavnagar Rajendrasinh Rana finds his name missing in the first list of 21 BJP candidates from Gujarat released on Wednesday. Gujarat accounts for a total of 26 seats in the Lok Sabha.
A repeat winner, the only apparent reason Rana found himself out in the cold was his friendship with RSS ‘pracharak’ Sanjay Joshi whom Modi considers a personal enemy. Insiders aver that, among other things, Modi was miffed at Rana allowing Joshi to stay in his MP’s flat in New Delhi.
Rana is well aware of the reason for his omission and was apprehensive of such a move, but like last time he was hopeful that the national leadership would prevail. ‘‘I do not know the reason for the decision,” he said, masking his anguish,” hastening to add that he would go along with the flow.
‘‘The Sangh is a ‘parivar’ and personal relations remain personal” is as far as he ventures out, making it aptly clear that his ties with Joshi are in the personal domain and not open to nitpicking by anyone.
Modi’s angst with Joshi has a long history. In the aftermath of the then BJP leader Shankersinh Vaghela’s rebellion against the first BJP government in Gujarat led by K Patel in 1995, which led to his ouster, Modi had been given marching orders from the state and was replaced by Sanjay Joshi as general secretary who ensured the triumphant return of Patel in the 1998 Vidhan Sabha elections, bagging 118 of the total 182 seats.
Since Joshi was considered close to Patel and lionized for the achievement, the seeds of rivalry were sown between the two. Things soured further when a sleaze CD involving Joshi made the rounds and it came to be known as an ‘insiders’ job carried out from within Gujarat.
The second list of the remaining five seats from Gujarat released on Saturday saw the axing of seven times MP from Ahmedabad, Harin Pathak, who was a deputy minister under LK Advani in the NDA government. Pathak, who has been replaced by filmstar Paresh Raval, was considered close to Advani, and Modi wanted to deny him the seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls but like in the case of Rana, Advani had prevailed. Not this time.
In the continuing drama over the choice of a seat for party patriarch LK Advani, most in the public domain would see a vacillating veteran unable to reconcile with the change of guard in the party leadership. The fact is that he is a victim of a strategic maneouvre by a political chess player who is playing on a winning wicket. Even in the 2009 elections, Advani was forced to take out a road show in his own constituency after close confidantes warned him of inside sabotage. He had then taken Amit Shah, Modi’s man Friday, to task for it.
Ever since Modi made his national ambitions public, upstaging Advani’s rathyatra with his own three day ‘sadbhavana fast’in September 2011, the BJP patriarch has been at the receiving end of numerous slights. The culmination came at the function to mark the foundation laying ceremony at Kevadia colony where not only Modi but even junior BJP leaders were garlanded, but Advani was ignored.
Ever since the party veteran made it clear that he was interested in re-contesting from Gandhinagar, oblique signals, goaded by the right quarters, went out to the effect that he was not welcome. Party leaders repeatedly asked Modi to contest from Gandhinagar and inspired reports surfaced that Advani had not nurtured his seat. After creating a ‘fear psychosis’ the state parliamentary board headed by Modi, then put forward Advani’s name, a day before the Central Parliamentary Board was to meet in Delhi.
Highly placed sources say that this was in fair measure after reports surfaced that Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Kailash Joshi were keen that Advani contest from Bhopal. Advani has publicly equated Modi’s work with that of Chauhan on numerous occasions and the possibility of an Advani-Chauhan-Kailash Joshi troika emerging has sent alarm bells ringing in the prime ministerial aspirant’s camp.
Modi has no stomach for rivals and has been merciless in scorching out all competition at the state level. The ticket distribution under his command marks out a continuation of the same policy at the national level. It is visible as much in UP as in Gujarat. In UP, where his close aide, Amit Shah, has been at work, the entire pack has been moved with Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalraj Mishra and Lalji Tandon being shunted out of their comfort zones. The plight of Jaswant singh, whose words had once hurt the Gujarat chief minister, also remains an abject reminder of Modi’s intolerance for discordant voices.
