Will ‘Scramble’ Hurt BJP’s Prospects In UP Polls

Lucknow, Jan 13: The sudden scramble in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its sheer timing has raised serious doubts on the prospects of the party in the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The move of the ‘rebels’ to quit the government as well as the party came at a time when the BJP is claiming to form the government for the second time that too with a thumping majority.
The timing is crucial as it came when none of the top leaders were present in the state to handle the situation.
The top leadership of the party has been camping in Delhi for the last three days brain-storming over the names of the probable candidates.
In their absence while three ministers have resigned, five MLAs have quit the BJP and if the ‘rebels’ are to be believed then more are waiting in queue to leave.
Swami Prasad Maurya, who resigned from the Yogi cabinet on Tuesday, brought in a dominoes effect as he claimed that many more ministers and MLAs will quit the government as well as the BJP in the coming days.

“Yes there is resentment among the party MLAs. For the last five years the MLAs have complained that they were not being heard either by the officials and or by those in the party.
The dharna staged by the party MLAs inside the House during the 2019 Assembly Session was an early sign, but it was not taken seriously by the top leadership,” said a BJP MLA.

“The most important point when the party speaks about performance based assessment, it should not be overlooked that the local area development fund of all the MLAs was suspended for almost a year in the wake of Covid-19,” said another law maker.
Political analyst Sanjay Kumar said, “Whether the BJP admits or not it will harm the party. Moreover, those who have crossed the party lines must be waiting for the right time and this is the right time for them.
“What Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav’s needs to do is to manage the resentment within his party, which may surface after the joining of the BJP rebels.”
So far all those who have left the party have their personal reasons as well, say one analyst. “Swami Prasad was seeking a ticket for his son. Similarly, Dara Singh Chauhan wanted to change his seat, but the party has not made any commitment so far.
“As far as Dharam Singh Saini is concerned he has been an associate of Swami Prasad Maurya since long,” the analyst said.
“Similar is the case with the MLAs, who have left the party, expressing allegiance to Swami Prasad Maurya,” he added.
Though the senior leaders have maintained silence on the issue, BJP state president Swatantra Dev Singh has said that those who failed to get tickets from the saffron party, were being wooed by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is offering them tickets of his ‘wrecked vehicle’ in ‘black’.
Taking a jab at Akhilesh on Thursday, Swatantra Dev tweeted, “Tipu Sultan is offering tickets of his wrecked vehicle in ‘black” to those, who are not getting tickets of the ‘double engine’ train.”