BJP cadre no longer disciplined? Rebellion, in-fighting in state units dent image

One vote from a BJP MLA made all the difference to Ahmed Patel in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections

Ahmed Patel's victory in Gujarat Rajya Sabha poll has come as an eye opener to the BJP that all is not well within. While losing the third seat came as loss of face to the party, cross-voting by its own MLA is the real threat. Is the BJP fast losing its disciplined, obedient cadre? Rebellion, in-fighting in many state units may soon send BJP packing the Congress' way.

With a political Chanakya like Amit Shah at the helm of affairs, the BJP's juggernaut has become unstoppable. While he is the mastermind, the party gains its strength from the RSS and its ideals of discipline, unity and obedience. Not often does one see a BJP leader defying the senior leadership. Off late, the scenario is deteriorating and it is not good news for the party that is hoping to return to power in 2019.

BJP MLA from Gujarat Nalin Kotadiya voted for Ahmed Patel in Tuesday's Rajya Sabha elections. In a video, he justified his decision and said that the Patidar agitation had affected him. "I voted against the BJP," the leader said and that puts things into perspective. BJP's own MLA voted 'against the party' and inadvertently for the Congress. Irrespective of BJP's confidence in winning the assembly elections in Gujarat, Ahmed Patel's win and BJP MLA's role in the victory speaks volumes about resentment within the party

Rot in state units threaten the BJP

Rebellion, resignations, infighting, leadership crisis etc were relatively rare in the BJP largely thanks to the RSS. However, the in-fighting in Kerala unit of BJP led to an internal probe being leaked. What followed was an embarrassment to the BJP and a dent on its corruption-free image. The leak was the result of infighting in the unit against an RSS man, Kummanam Rajasekharan being at the helm of affairs.

In Karnataka, the infighting in the state unit has ripped the party into multiple groups. While sanity is expected to return to the state unit after Amit Shah's visit to Karnataka, the BJP remains a divided house. With elections fast approaching, the ego battles between B S Yeddyurappa and K S Eshwarappa refuse to allow the party to function as a singular entity. So much so, that Eshwarappa even gave the state executive meet on Sunday a miss.

For a party that emerged the single largest in the parliament and hopes to return to power at the centre in 2019, it may well do the BJP some good to stop, look at the rot from within that threatens to grow into a headache.

OneIndia News