Before the Karnataka BJP-JDU conflict over seat sharing for the approaching assembly elections die down and the troubles in the party Bihar unit caused after reshuffle in the ministry by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar letting down, another controversy in a row arose this time in Maharashtra has morally sent the Bhartiya Janata Party at the back seat.
The recent controversy arose in Maharashtra after the BJP’s general secretary (GS) Gopinath Munde tendered his resignation on April 20 from all party’s organisational posts along with the GS to show his annoyance for being sidelined in the decision making process by Nitin Gadkari, the state party chief. His reportedly refusal to participate in the meeting with party’s central leadership further deepened the situation.
The bone of contention was hiding in the post of party president upon which Gadkari’s close confidants Madhu Chavan was appointed instead of allegedly Mumbadevi MLA Raj Purohit, in closeness to Munde.
Irked over the move, the general secretary sent his resignation to the party high command in the capital, which was reportedly rejected by the latter followed by the appeasement policy by the party leaders namely party national president Rajnath Singh, vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Arun Jaitley who talked on phone to Munde to sort out the problem and summoned him and Gadkari to come to Delhi to quash differences between the duo.
However Munde refused the base of his resignation as appointment of Gadkari’s confidant. “I resigned from all party posts because the party is not functioning democratically. I will talk about it after the budget session of the state legislature,” infuriated Munde often called the ‘face of the party’ in Maharashtra, who especially after the assassination of Pramod Mahajan, went up as the superior leader of the party in the state.
The matter got worse once again when sixteen Corporators from Pune sent their unanimous resignation to the party president Rajnath Singh to convey their solidarity with general secretary Munde.
The vice president of BJP’s Pune unit Sandeep Khardekar said the process of sidelining Gopinath Munde in the state affairs was completely irritating and said the decision was neither happily received by the party workers nor would be endured at any cost.
Rajnath Singh while saying that there was no question of accepting his resignation expressed his hope that issue would soon be sorted out once they arrive here.
The Opposition Leader in Lok Sabha and the party’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani also talked Munde over phone and hoped the differences would be sort out soon.
The problem has been precipitated after Gopinath Munde, the brother-in-law of late Pramod Mahajan denied to visit the Party High Command in Delhi on April 22.
The Bhartiya Janata Party as per the source have decided to hold an emergency meeting with L K Advani and Jaswant Singh to discuss the matter. The sources say that they will persuade Munde to renounce his resignation and take the party’s responsibility in the state again.
The differences between Munde and Gadkari would be detrimental to the party’s political ambition in Maharashtra especially when the assembly elections in some states are approaching and the general elections due to be held next year.
Such disputes in one state might affect the morality and confidence of party workers’ in the other states. Munde has been the number one leader of the party still full of beans at this stage in Maharashtra and the icon of Other Backward Caste (OBC) people. His shift of loyalty would mean number of voters’ detachment from the party.
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