It will be a faction ridden Tamil Nadu BJP unit which will be awaiting Amit Shah, the party’s all India president, when he lands in Chennai later this week, his first official visit to the State after taking over as the party’s national president. The recent development leading to MDMK leader Vaiko’s exit from the NDA and the war of words between him and senior BJP leaders has brought out the factional feuds within the party to full public glare.
There are charges made by second rung leaders against the party bosses in Tamil Nadu that the latter kept quiet when Vaiko and Ramadoss of the PMK mounted severe attack on Primer Minister Narendra Modi. "It was shocking that state chief Tamilissai Soundararajan disowned national secretary H Raja and senior leader Subramanian Swamy who asked Vaiko to mind his words against the Prime Minister,” said a senior BJP leader in Tamil Nadu.
Another prominent BJP leader alleged that it was a troika of union minister Pon Radhakrishnan, vice president Vanathi Sreenivasan and organisational secretary Mohan Rajulu who run the show in Tamil Nadu leaving Tamilissai Soundararajan to the role of a mute spectator most of the time. "Rajulu has been continuing as the party's organisational secretary for the last 12 years. The party had four MPs and two MlAs when he took over the post of Organisational Secretary. Now we have just one MP and no representation in the assembly," said a senior office bearer.
But what is shocking is that the membership drive launched by the party’s central leadership is yet to take-off in the State. “last year 70 people from Annamalai University joined the party in my presence. None of them have been given membership cards though it is more than a year,” said Kattumannarkoil Kannan, member, national council, BJP. He agreed that there is a dearth of leadership in the Tamil Nadu unit of the party.
Another office bearer who has been entrusted with membership drive said there were no printed membership forms available in Tamil Nadu. “This is surprising. There are hundreds waiting to join the BJP. But the State head quarters do not have printed membership forms,” he said.
Veteran leader l Ganeshan, a former state chief, wears a sad look as things have gone beyond his control. It is allies like DMDK which are dictating terms to the BJP. The party going behind Rajnikanth pleading with him to join the party has tarnished its own image. “The present leadership failed to exploit the good will generated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said the senior office bearer.
The assembly elections are scheduled for April 2016. “But in the Tamil Nadu unit of BJP, it is business as usual. I am yet to see any concerted drive on the part of the BJP’s leadership to strengthen the party in the State,” said the worker.