To encourage the greenhorns to come up to take the batons from the old horses, BJP high command is sending the young leaders to some neighbouring States like Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to address rallies being organised on the occasion of the ongoing Modi Fest.
Significantly, the battle-hardened veterans like Maj Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Vijay Bahuguna-all former Chief Ministers — have been excluded from the list of the speakers from the State to be sent to the neighbouring ones.
However, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and the Union Minister Ajay Tamta would address Modi Fest rallies in Jammu & Kashmir. Observers say that the time has come when the old guards must yield place to the new in tune with the demand of time, particularly when the party is going from strength to strength.
According to the sources privy to the party high command, four Ministers — all relatively young in age — Prakash Pant, Madan Kaushik, Arvind Pandey and Dr Dhan Singh Rawat are being sent to Himachal Pradesh to address Modi Fest rallies there. The only exception is Satpal Maharaj, a veteran, who is being sent along with the young brigade. Besides, the national party secretary Teerath Singh Rawat, who had been denied ticket to facilitate Satpal Maharaj to contest the Assembly election-2017 from Choubattakhal, is being sent to address rallies in Punjab. Chief Minister Trivendra singh Rawat and Union Minister Ajay Tamta have been assigned to address rallies in sensitive Jammu and Kashmir. All of those mentioned above would address at least two rallies at two different places in Uttarakhand.
But the party’s national brass keeping stalwarts like the former Chief Ministers- Gen Khanduri, Koshyari and Nishank -out of the much-hyped Modi Fest has many eyebrows raised in the political circles. “It is a message to the party rank and file, making it clear who are set to take over the reins of the State party in the coming days,” says a political commentator.
However, a senior state BJP leader said that ignoring the veterans in the state might cost the party dear in the coming days. “They might be ignored outside the state. But in Uttarakhand, such tactics might prove counter-productive, given the deep roots these leaders enjoy in the political soil of the state,” he warned.
While talking to The Pioneer, the state BJP president Ajay Bhatt underplayed the selection, saying that it has nothing to do with elbowing out the old horses to make passage for the younger leaders to take the rein. “The party sought dates from everyone. It seems that all of those approached did not inform the party about their availability,” he said.