New Delhi, November 9
A debate on growing indiscipline in the party, as reflected in verbal dual between party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and secretary Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, is likely to be top on the agenda at the BJP’s central office-bearers’ meeting here tomorrow.
The meeting is also likely to take stock of the party’s preparedness to face the coming Assembly poll in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana.
The meeting, first after Mr L.K. Advani assumed the reins of the party, is expected to take a serious view of the statements of the two Muslim leaders of the party on the allegations hurled by newly appointed general secretary Uma Bharti against her party colleague Pramod Mahajan.
There is general revulsion among party cadres and leaders over the war of words between Mr Naqvi and Mr Hussain as they feel that it is like adding insult to the injury.
As if the party’s defeat, first in the Lok Sabha poll and then in Maharashtra Assembly election, was not enough that these two leaders have now decided to wage a war of words in public, a senior leader observed, adding that the two would be asked to maintain a low profile and refrain from going to media on Uma Bharti issue.
The meeting will also take up the results of the Maharashtra poll and the next Assembly elections in the three states where the BJP faces a tough battle and has to decide on the issue of alliances.
In Haryana, with the merger of the Haryana Vikas Party with the Congress, the BJP is confronted with a serious dilemma now.
The state unit of the BJP has categorically told the central leadership to go it alone in the Assembly election as the party did in the Lok Sabha poll and managed to win the Sonepat seat.
Conscious of the machination of INLD chief and Chief Minister Om Prakash Chauatala, the state leaders told Mr Advani a few weeks back that the present INLD-run administration had lost people’s confidence and it would be advisable to contest the Assembly election alone.
In Bihar, the alliance with the JD (U) appears to be developing cracks over the BJP’s return to “Hinduatva” but the party would like to keep the alliance going.
Mr Advani and former BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu will brief party colleagues over the two-day Haridwar meeting of the RSS, which has asked the party to return to its hard-line “Hinduatva” course.
Meanwhile, the BJP leadership today decided to keep pending the selection of Madhya Pradesh BJP President till the completion of the local body elections in the state, scheduled later this month.
A group of central leaders were scheduled to meet here to decide on the Madhya Pradesh unit chief and the names for the BJP coordination committee to foster better relationship between the party and the Madhya Pradesh Government.
But the meeting was cancelled as the leadership decided to defer decision on these issues till mayoral elections.
