In a development that took everyone by surprise, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday chose to replace one angry young leader with another in its prestigious core group.
The party has also made an attempt to reinforce its premier group by including national level leaders while dropping those at State-level.
Perpetually on a warpath with the BJP’s alliance partner, Shiromani Akali Dal, former MP Navjot Singh Sidhu replaced Punjab Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi, who incidentally had accused the ruling party of staging an attack on his brother a couple of years back.
Though the party is terming the change as “routine”, insiders insist that the saffron party has picked Sidhu for his frank, blunt, straight forward approach and ability to keep his foot down when required just before the crucial 2017 assembly polls.
The development assumes significance as Sidhu, who, along with his MlA wife Navjot Kaur, has always been vocal against his own Government in Punjab and also Akali Dal, has recently been given Rajya Sabha berth. It was then considered that the party wanted to keep Sidhu away from Punjab politics owing to their “bitter” relations with the BJP’s ally, SAD.
While Sidhu has already made it clear that he would not campaign in Punjab if BJP chooses to fight polls in coalition with the SAD, his wife, who is also Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the Parkash Singh Badal Government, has also declared that she would not contest the next polls if BJP allies with the SAD.
Speculations were also rife that the Sidhu couple may leave the BJP and join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — considering which the BJP has elevated Sidhu to the Upper House.
Three-time MP from Amritsar, Sidhu had gave up his seat for his political guru Arun Jaitley during 2014 lok Sabha polls, who was brought in by the SAD to oust the former cricketer. Sidhu had openly attacked the Badals alleging them of “deliberately ignoring’ his constituency.
In fact, the motor-mouth leader had minced no words to take on the Akali Dal during Haryana assembly polls in 2014 where it was contesting polls in alliance with the Indian National lok Dal (INlD) against the BJP.
Sources informed The Pioneer that Sidhu’s inclusion in the core group was recommended by the party high command, apparently to make a leader like him a part of decision making process in the State.
His inclusion has attracted mixed response within the saffron brigade. While some BJP leaders believed that he would not attend the core group meetings as earlier when he was part of the group until his term as lok Sabha MP ended in 2014, others are of the view that it would infuse a new energy in the party and it would put forth its stand more assertively.
It has been seen that SAD has all along been forcing the saffron party to play a second fiddle and taking decisions that may affect BJP’s vote bank while favouring its own.
However, Joshi’s ouster from the core group has also raised several eyebrows. It is believed that Joshi has been dropped considering his “not-so-good” relations with Sidhu and the party high command did not want any clash of interest in its main body.
Along with Joshi, senior party leader and former Minister Tikshan Sud has also been dropped from the core group. Sud is also the political advisor of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.
Besides, local leaders including Rakesh Rathore, Jagtar Saini and former MP Gurcharan Kaur have also been dropped — in an apparent attempt to strengthen the group by bringing in national leaders and dropping some local leaders.
After the restructuring, the core group include State unit president and Union Minister Vijay Sampla, his predecessors Kamal Sharma, Ashwani Sharma, Rajinder Bhandari, former MP Avinash Rai Khanna, Brij lal Rinwa, State Minister Madan Mohan Mittal, former Minister and sitting MlA Manoranjan Kalia, national secretary Tarun Chugh, and party’s legislature party leader Chunni lal Bhagat as permanent members.
Besides, core group has four special invites — all-India general secretary (organisation) Ram lal, state affairs in-charge Prabhat Jha, State general secretary (organisation) Dinesh Kumar, other than one leader of the rank of national joint secretary whose name was still to be announced.