Date:09/01/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/01/09/stories/2006010910840400.htm

New Delhi

BJP needs to rejuvenate itself for New Year

Sujay Mehdudia

New BJP chief Rajnath Singh is faced with the task of infusing fresh aggression among Delhi unit cadres and leaders

NEW DELHI: Despite getting several opportunities to pin down the Sheila Dikshit Government, the Delhi unit of Bharatiya Janata Party failed to corner the ruling party on important issues during 2005 and instead its leaders and cadres continued to pull in different directions in the process letting the ruling party off the hook.

New BJP president Rajnath Singh is faced with the tough task of not only rejuvenating and re-energising the Delhi unit but also infusing fresh aggression among the cadres and leaders to take on the Congress party in the run-up to the civic body polls early next year. Interestingly, despite Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan having remained active and taking up various public issues the impact has not been to the desired levels. Various senior leaders in the BJP, who have either been neglected by the party high command or are sulking, have not got along with Dr. Vardhan and preferred to charter their own course reflecting poorly on the working of the party as a cohesive unit.

Political observers here are of the view that despite all the agitations and protests, the Delhi BJP or its legislature party have not been able to put the Sheila Dikshit dispensation on notice.

For instance when the agitation for rollback of power tariff hike and fast running meters was at its peak during July and August and the various residents' welfare associations had also taken to the streets, the BJP leaders were squabbling among themselves on other issues. Instead of taking credit for putting the ruling Congress party under pressure to take back the hiked power tariff, former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana was busy targeting his own party president L.K. Advani.

The energy of the local unit was also taken up to defend Mr. Advani and somehow show Mr. Khurana in poor light, robbing the party of a great opportunity to claim credit for something big.

Similarly, on the issue of fast running meters and inflated bills, the party was working at cross-purposes. While Dr. Vardhan was holding one end, the former Union Minister, Vijay Goel chartered his independent course and undertook various agitational programmes to highlight the issue.

Similarly, Mr. Khurana was singing a different tune on the issue of industries and privatisation of Delhi Jal Board only to disappear for a prolonged period and then re-appear with some new issue. Another former Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma hardly had anything to do with party programmes and instead tried his hand at zonal agitations without much success.

Then again Mr. Khurana at the end of the year spoke on the issue of demolitions and threatened to launch an agitation but again disappeared from the scene for some reason. Mr. Khurana also launched the Poorvanchal Kranti Sangh along with BJP leaders Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad but without much success.

Insiders in the party were annoyed with the ``indifferent attitude'' of the Central leadership of the party and its Delhi-based leaders who failed to take up issues affecting the people of Delhi.

There were murmurs within the party that Mr. Advani, former Union Minister, Arun Jaitely, and South Delhi Member of Parliament, Vijay Kumar Malhotra were soft towards the Congress Government in Delhi. ``The party does not have a general secretary in-charge for the past several months.

It urgently needs someone who could infuse new vigour among the cadres as civic body polls are scheduled for early 2007,'' a senior party leader remarked.