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Sanjay Joshi quits BJP
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary
Sanjay Joshi, a bitter foe of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,
Friday resigned from the party, exposing divisions within its
ranks. Only days after mysterious posters appeared in Delhi and »
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Seven years after Sanjay Joshi had to distance himself from the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following the surfacing of a sleazy
CD involving him, this low-key apparatchik of the Rashtriya
Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has had to leave the party again.
It was said during the CD episode in 2005 that Joshi had been
"fixed" by his opponents in the party. The same charge may be
voiced again. Only this time, the person who will be identified in
this context as his main adversary is none other than Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The two pracharaks - or preachers of the Hindu nationalist RSS'
worldview - have never been the best of friends. However, if Modi
has had the last laugh - as of now - in this mutual game of
oneupmanship, it is obviously because the chief minister's career
has blossomed compared to that of his one-time rival in Gujarat.
It is, however, difficult to say whether there has been a clear
winner and loser this time. The fact that Joshi was able to claw
his way back to the BJP's national executive despite the earlier
scandal underlined his staying power which could only have been
due to support from the RSS. There is nothing to indicate that he
still does not enjoy the support.
After all, it took Modi all of seven months - from September 2011
to May 2012 - to oust Joshi from the BJP's highest policy-making
body although he remained in the party at the time. Not only that,
Modi had to boycott one national executive meeting and threaten to
stay away from another before he could have his way. Modi also
refrained from campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and elsewhere
to give vent to his displeasure about Joshi's rehabilitation in
the party.
Arguably, Joshi might still have survived but for a few gaffes of
Nitin Gadkari's own. These included backing a controversial
London-based businessman for a Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand and
asking the tainted B.S. Kushwaha to join the party on the eve of
the Uttar Pradesh elections. Having been weakened by these
missteps, the BJP president presumably came to the conclusion that
removing Joshi from the national executive was a small price to
pay for placating Modi.
However, even at the time of parting, Gadkari complimented Joshi's
large-heartedness for stepping down for the sake of a sulking
chief minister. But what he may not have anticipated was the anti-Modi
campaign which the supporters of the "large-hearted" Joshi would
launch by pasting posters in Delhi, Ahmedabad and elsewhere,
saying that "chhote man se koi bada nai hota (the small-minded
cannot become big)".
It is unlikely that Modi has faced such a direct attack from his
own party men before. But, if Joshi's supporters dared to carry it
out, the reason is apparently the belief that the RSS is not quite
pleased with the chief minister's antics. Moreover, the latter has
been facing an offensive in recent months from the influential
Patel lobby in Gujarat led by former chief minister Keshubhai
Patel.
Besides, the latest Modi-Gadkari-Arun Jaitley line-up has
predictably alerted L.K. Advani to the possibility of being
sidelined. Hence his indirect criticism of Gadkari on the grounds
that the BJP is unable to fill the vacuum created by the growing
popular dissatisfaction with the Congress.
Modi, therefore, is not on as much of a strong wicket as he
supposed when Joshi was shown the door. As much was clear when
Sushil Modi, Bihar's deputy chief minister, pointed out that the
manner in which Joshi was made to leave was not correct since no
one had the right to "hijack" the party and dictate terms.
Now, the scene has become more complicated with Joshi's
resignation from the party. It is not impossible that the latter
is playing for high stakes where he believes that Modi will be at
a disadvantage. Since the background to the events of the last few
months is the prime ministerial ambitions of Modi and others,
Joshi is probably trying to highlight through his resignation how
disruptive for the party can be Modi's coercive style of
operation.
Joshi's proximity to the RSS must have made him aware that this is
exactly the kind of functioning which the Nagpur patriarchs
dislike. In fact, they have been urging Modi to be more
accommodative. Since resignations are rather unusual in the BJP,
Joshi cannot but create a ruckus inside the saffron brotherhood at
a time when the leadership tussles in the top echelons of the BJP
remain unresolved.
Till now, Modi has had a roller-coaster ride, winning two
successive elections and presenting himself as an able
administrator focussed on development. It was natural for him to
think, therefore, that his next goal of moving to the national
stage would be easy. But the trouble he is having with a former
fellow pracharak must warn him about the tangled web that is
politics.
Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be
reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com
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