Mumbai: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to start its four-day ‘Shivar Sampark Yatra’ today to reach out to the public, internal strife in the party has come to the fore. Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil dismissed the comments of former minister Eknath Khadse, who had said the party was resorting to the yatra as its developmental works were slowing down. Calling the comments Mr Khadse’s “personal opinion,” Mr Patil also denied that there would be mid-term polls as predicted by the senior BJP leader on Tuesday.
The BJP, as part of the Shivar Sampark Yatra, aims to reach 25 lakh farmers in the next four days. However, the internal bickering in the party threatens to overshadow the party’s outreach programme. Mr Khadse, who had to resign over allegations of corruption in June 2016, predicted mid-term polls in the state while addressing party workers in Dhule in north Maharashtra.
The ousted ex-minister, who is said to be sulking, also called BJP’s ambitious ‘Shivar Sanwad Sabha’ as an attempt to counter the growing perception that the state government’s developmental works were slowing down.
As part of the yatra, BJP is planning to hold 4,000 corner meetings. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, state president Raosaheb Danve and all ministers, MLAs, MLCs, MPs and other district level leaders will address these rallies. The yatra will end on May 28.
In an apparent effort to stop Mr Khadse’s statement from hurting the party’s outreach programme, Mr Patil said, “There is no question of mid-term polls, this could be Mr Khadse’s personal opinion,” said Mr Patil. He also denied that the state government’s work is getting slowed down. “People are happy and these rallies are to inform people about the government’s decision,” said Mr Patil.
Internal rumblings
Internal bickering in state BJP is a well-known fact. After Mr Khadse resigned in June 2016, all competitors for the chief ministerial post are said to be disturbed. Ministers such as Pankaja Munde, Vinod Tawde even state B JP chief Raosaheb Danve are reportedly feeling sidelined. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is seen to have managed to take all the credit and focus for governmental work as well as BJP’s success in local body elections.
App power
The BJP’s central leadership has created a mobile app in which all district-level leaders are asked to upload photos and videos of the rallies they are supposed to address. This is an internal app and BJP sources said that each district chief and general secretary is asked to download it in his/her mobile. All senior leaders including ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and other organisational leaders are asked to address rallies. Photos and videos of these rallies will be uploaded on the app.
