The long smoldering embers of animosity between two BJP stalwarts — former Chief Minister and Haridwar MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and BJP national secretary Trivendra Singh Rawat-erupted in the open as the saffron party foot-soldiers from the rival camps clashed at the State BJP headquarters in Dehardun on Friday. This apart, slogans were shouted, denouncing the rivals. Things reached such a sorry pass that the crucial State BJP meeting to discuss modalities of district-wise party organizational election slated to be held here in Dehradun was shifted to Haridwar.
Observers say things long suppressed under the façade of discipline coming out into the open, the principal Opposition party bent on capturing power from Congress would face immense embarrassment ahead of the Assembly election slated in early 20117.
The issue was the same that had triggered protest on October 20–the State party leadership foisting an ‘undesirable’ man as the Mandal president for Doiwala rural areas.
Meanwhile, in a move that surprised many, the State BJP president Tirath Singh Rawat, who is supposed to be striving hard to cling to his chair amidst criticism , has suspended the State BJP spokesperson Prakash Suman Dhyani from the party on Friday. Sources said this particular move would further exacerbate intra-party squabbles as the suspended leader is deemed to be close to another former Chief Minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri. The party insiders feel that if things continue to dog the party this way it would prove to be a pipe dream to have the incumbent CM Harish Rawat ousted. “He is sitting pretty in his chair, going on overdrives to endear himself more and more to the people and we are fighting amongst ourselves, tearing the façade of discipline and exposing that we are no different from others or rather worse when it comes to self-aggrandizement at the expense of everything that the party stands for,” said a senior State
BJP leader, insisting on anonymity.
Five aspirants - Rajendra Singh Manwal, Deepak Chand, Narendra Negi, Dinesh Sajwan and Rajendra Tadiyal- are in the contest for the post of Mandal president for Doiwala rural areas. The first four went for a deal to make the party leaders to select one of them as the Mandal president. later, they wrote to the district election officer to appoint Rajendra Manwal as the new Mandal president for the area. They allege that the party leadership is all set to announce the name of Tadiyal as the Mandal head under pressure from the lok Sabha member Ramesh Pokhryal Nishank, trampling the sentiments of the party rank and file.
The story of animosity between these two camps dates back to the time the by-poll was held for Doiwala Assembly constituency in July last year. Election was necessitated after the MP from Haridwar Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had vacated the seat after his election as MP from Haridwar constituency during the general election 2014. BJP national secretary Trivendra Singh Rawat was locked in a straight contest against the Congress nominee Hira Singh Bisht. Rawat lost the election by a huge margin with a section of the party’s foot soldiers attributing sabotage done by the camp followers of Nishank to the humiliating defeat. The party kept on nursing its wounds for long as the drubbing came as a surprise with the party taking a huge lead in the particular constituency during the 2014 general election.
Political analysts say tough days are ahead of the party with the stalwarts like Dr Nishank and Trivendra Rawat being in no mood to yield ground. Any fire-fighting measure to be initiated by the State party president is likely to go waste as his writ hardly runs in the party roost, they opine.