Knives out in the BJP

After the party's defeat in the general elections, and with the foreign origin issue melting away, the knives are out in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

At the national level, former BJP ideologue and party general secretary K.N. Govindacharya is taking potshots at the BJP and other political outfits for indulging in servile flattery.

Govindacharya is also determined to carry on his agitation on the foreign origin issue "with or without the support of the BJP". Congress president Sonia Gandhi's refusal to accept the post of prime minister berth, he said, is a "temporary reprieve".

Another influential section of the BJP, who were once ministers, have launched a "whisper campaign" to oust BJP chief M. Venkaiah Naidu and his team, which comprises Pramod Mahajan, Arun Jaitley and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Fingers are being pointed at Naidu and his team for their "failure" to make "proper use of the foreign origin issue".

As for Sonia Gandhi's refusal to stake claim, the BJP on Tuesday merely stated that "it was an internal matter of the Congress party". There has been total silence from Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani on the recent political developments.

In Gujarat, rebellion is building up against Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Senior state leaders Kanshiram Rana and Keshubhai Patel reportedly made their "resentment against Modi clear to the BJP high command," the sources said.

In Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP bagged only 10 seats, the daggers are out against state unit chief Vinay Katiyar and pressure is being mounted on the party high command to remove him.

Senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh has indicated that "factionalism" within the state unit was the main cause of the BJP's drubbing in Uttar Pradesh.

Govindacharya, who was eased out of the organisation after saying former Prime Minister Vajpayee wore a "mukhauta (mask)," once again raised his head.

"The malice of abject, limitless and uncouth sycophancy is afflicting all political parties," Govindacharya observed. Though he did not clarify his remark, his obvious reference was to the BJP's move to shift from its ideological moorings and weave its entire campaign around Vajpayee.

© The Asian Age