New Delhi: The BJP top brass is set to come under tremendous pressure from within if the party failed to win UP Assembly polls. While the party has decided to back the demonetisation scheme by taking a moral high ground, resentment was brewing among a large chunk of functionaries over the move.
Some of the veteran leaders, including L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, have been maintaining a stoic silence, and if the party loses UP polls, then the RSS, which has come out in support of the currency ban, too would point fingers at the top leadership for “poor execution” and “ seek explanation”, sources said.
While the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh general secretary, Mr Vrijesh Upadhyay praised the move, it’s president, Mr Baij Nath Rai, launched a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, telling reporters on Friday that “1,35,000 job opportunities have been created so far but 20 lakh people have lost their jobs” under Modi government.
He said demonetisation has “made things worse, especially in the unorganised sector.”
Echoing apprehensions expressed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Rai claimed it remains to be ascertained “how deep the impact (of demonetisation) has been in the unorganised sector”. “There are fears about GDP contraction, but we have to wait and watch,” he said.
The BJP functionaries and leaders, who are backing demonetisation were secretly flaying the scheme.
A senior party leader, who wished to remain anonymous “for obvious reasons” said, “demonetisation is going to hurt us bad.”
He pointed out that “everything now hinges on the outcome of the UP polls.” According to him, “if BJP loses UP polls, the top brass will have to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions.” Asked whether there is a possibility of a change of guard in the party if BJP loses UP, he said; “There will be pressure. Let’s see what happens.”
The BJP workers in the party headquarters say in whispering voices. “We are also getting hit by the move. Our daily survival has become a problem.”
Some of the party leaders claimed that the top brass “has no connect with the grassroots” and “they listen only to a handful of people.”
Some of the leaders, who are known as strategists said that the nationalism plank, which was evoking response has now taken a backseat and “if we do not do something by January to ease problems of common men we are going to be in deep trouble.”
To salvage the situation the BJP was planning a series of rallies, street corner meetings, drives to talk about the “advantages of going cashless.” A party functionary, planning some of these “awareness programmes” told this newspaper, “we still don’t what we are going to tell people in rural sectors. Majority of them can’t even read or write.”
