New Delhi, October 17
An ugly power struggle between the present and former Chief Ministers Babulal Gaur and Uma Bharti has broken out in Bhopal with the latter motivating her followers to collect signatures in her support to recapture the chair in Ballabh Bhavan.
Taking advantage of the eroding power of the central leadership in the wake of the ongoing tussle between the Sangh and BJP president L.K. Advani, Ms Bharti is leaving nothing to chance and is determined to oust Mr Gaur.
While Ms Bharti’s loyalists openly demanded her return to the chair of power, the state BJP leadership launched a damage-control exercise and party functionaries today held separate talks with ministers and asked them not to voice their “complaints” in public.
Referring to Press reports about the campaign by a section of BJP MLAs, the party’s state unit president Shivraj Singh Chauhan, told mediapersons in Bhopal today, ‘’the party disapproves of such a campaign.”
However, the BJP will consult those legislators reportedly behind the move to ascertain their views.
‘’Mr Babulal Gaur will continue as Chief Minister and the party’s senior leaders, including state in-charge general secretary Arun Jaitley, ruled out a change of guard,’’ Mr Chauhan added.
Even as opinion of every minister and MLA was being sought, some of those enjoying Chief Minister Babulal Gaur’s confidence demanded resignation of their ministerial colleagues who were “not willing to accept his leadership”.
“Shivraj Singh Chauhan (state BJP president) asked us to speak about complaints, if any, at the party forum, rather than talking to media about it,” one of the Bharti loyalist PWD Minister Kailash Vijayvergiya told newspersons in Bhopal after talks with party functionaries.
“Everybody (ministers and MLAs) is coming in and expressing their views,” he added.
Within minutes of Mr Chauhan ruling out a change of guard in the state following demand by Bharti loyalists to remove Gaur, the ministers started visiting the BJP office.
Party functionaries, including Mr Chauhan, state general secretary Kaptan Singh Solanki and former Chief Minister Kailash Joshi, held individual discussion with every minister, Revenue Minister Raghavji said.
On whether he was satisfied with Mr Gaur’s leadership, he said “I would have resigned it I was not satisfied”.
“We are working under the leadership of Gaur. Those who don’t accept his leadership, should resign on moral grounds”, Tourism Minister Jayant Malaviya said.
To a query he said, “there is nothing wrong in Ms Bharti’s leadership. The party has to decide about it.”
Speculation about the leadership change campaign gathered momentum after Ms Bharti abruptly left a state BJP executive meeting at the cantonment town Jabalpur yesterday and hosted a ‘Dasehra Milan’ at her local residence, attended by state ministers and MLAs loyal to her. The campaign reportedly began at the meeting, sources pointed out.
Ms Bharti met the party’s state in charge and former chief minister Kailash Joshi at the latter’s residence here today. Later, Mr Joshi, Ms Bharti, Mr Chauhan, state BJP general secretary (organisation) Kaptan Singh Solanki and others were in consultation at the BJP’s state headquarters.
‘’The party will first look into the contents of the letter, reportedly sent by the legislators to the leadership, before arriving at any conclusion,’’ Mr Joshi said.
Ms Bharti is scheduled to visit the ancient temple town Ujjain later. She told reporters that she would resume the Bihar poll campaign on October 19, a day later than planned.
