New Delhi, August
10
It’s Union Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s dream come true as a
sulking “Bihari Babu” Shatrughan Sinha has formally told the BJP
party president that he will not be joining the party’s beleaguered
campaign for the Bihar elections.
In fact during the recent phases of
the BJP’s lacklustre Nyay Yatra Shatrughan Sinha chose to go on an
“international yatra” — during the first phase to the United
States and during the second to Pakistan.
Now while the BJP is
desperate that he should join the Nyay Yatra Shatrughan Sinha, say party
sources, is off to the USA after the current session of Parliament. He
will not campaign in Bihar even for a day.
Senior BJP leaders revealed
to The Tribune that Shatrughan Sinha had written two detailed letters to
Mr Lal Krishna Advani expressing anguish over the way he had been
treated. It is learnt that Mr Advani has not bothered even to formally
acknowledge the letters thus angering Shatrughan.
A senior BJP leader
in charge of the Bihar campaign said: “When we asked him to campaign
he sarcastically told us ‘the win is in your account so is the loss. I
have nothing to do with this”.
When contacted by The Tribune
Shatrughan Sinha refused to comment saying it was a matter between him
and his party.
In his twin letters to Mr Advani, Shatrughan lays bare
his heart chalking out his deteriorating relationship with the BJP with
its bitter inner party wrangling.
He is believed to have pointed out
that “when a campaign of calumny was launched against me when I was a
Union Minister in the BJP-led NDA government nobody from the party
defended me. I have seen on numerous occasions that even minister’s
accused of corruption have been defended by the party.” Shatrughan
Sinha felt that he was thrown to the wolves because the
second-generation leaders were of panicky decisions in order to
ensure his favourities’ place, such as the appointment of Mr Modi as
campaign in charge. These decisions angered Shatrughan Sinha and ensured
that in his second letter he firmly bowed out of the Bihar
campaign.
Says a senior leader: “Shatrughan Sinha is a huge crowd
puller. Can we really replace his meetings with those addressed by
Venkaiah Naidu.”
Shatrughan Sinha’s sore also because the party had
during the last election virtually promised to project him as their CM
candidate. The BJP later reneged on its promise and threw its weight
behind Nitish Kumar.
Despite, this Shatrughan chose to campaign for
the party.
This time around while all parties agree that it is a
“historical opportunity to rid Bihar of Lalu Raj” Shatrughan Sinha
has joined the growing ranks of BJP rebels.
— The correspondent, who
is an anchor of SAB TV, regularly writes for The Tribune.
