Advani, three others speak up: BJP emasculated, forced to kow-tow to a handful

Although no names were mentioned, the statement is being seen as an unprecedented critique of the leadership of BJP president Amit Shah and Modi. Seizing on the Bihar debacle to make their point, the four leaders, including former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha — he signed the statement — and Kangra MP and former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar said that the Bihar loss showed that “no lesson has been learnt from the fiasco in Delhi,” where the Aam Aadmi Party trounced BJP by securing 67 of the 70 Assembly seats.

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“To say that everyone is responsible for the defeat in Bihar,” the statement said, “is to ensure that no one is held responsible. It shows those who would have appropriated credit if the party had won are bent on shrugging off responsibility for the disastrous showing in Bihar,” it said. “The principal reason for the latest defeat is the way the party has been emasculated in the last year…A thorough review must be done of the reasons for the defeat as well as of the way the party is being forced to kow-tow to a handful, and how its consensual character has been destroyed.” This was a rebuttal of the BJP Parliamentary Board’s conclusion yesterday that the party would take collective responsibility for the defeat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and senior party leader LK Advani at a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in New Delhi. Express Photo/Anil Sharma

Later, Joshi told The Indian Express that the decision to issue a statement came after “feedback” that he received from party leaders who met him today to wish him on the eve of Diwali. Joshi, in his Delhi residence since September 9 after undergoing a knee surgery, said: “While talking about the Bihar polls, many people who came to meet me expressed their feelings about the party, too. I felt that the time has come to express these feelings. A meeting with other senior leaders also happened all of sudden.”

While as many as five spokespersons were not available for comment and many party leaders declined to comment on the statement, at least four key leaders in the party hierarchy told The Indian Express, on the condition of anonymity, that Advani, Sinha, Kumar and Joshi are marginalised in the current set-up and their criticism would create “some ripples” in the organisation but would not “seriously impact” the leadership. A Cabinet minister, however, said that the matter should be discussed in detail. Modi and Shah, sources said, were not exactly surprised by the statement. BJP leaders close to Shah think that the statement is “less about Bihar and more about taking control of the party.” The message is clear, said a leader close to Shah. “In January 2016, when the party’s new president is nominated, they want Shah to face a challenge.”

Ridiculing the BJP Parliamentary Board’s conclusion that party would take collective responsibility for the defeat, the elders said: “To say that everyone is responsible for the defeat in Bihar is to ensure that no one is held responsible. It shows that those who would have appropriated credit if the party had won are bent on shrugging off responsibility for the disastrous showing in Bihar. The leaders added that the assessment “should not be done by the very persons who have managed and who have been responsible for the campaign in Bihar.”

Two hours later, three former party presidents Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari — all Ministers in the Modi Cabinet — issued a counter statement on behalf of the party after discussions at the top level that included Modi and Shah. Saying that the party will “welcome any guidance and suggestions” of the seniors, they said that it would discuss the matter at various other forums. They took a swipe at the elders. “The Party has been very fortunate to have been led by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Shri L K Advani for decades. They had set a healthy precedent of the Party collectively taking up responsibility for victories and defeats,” it said.

A Cabinet minister who did not wish to be named said that those speaking out now also owe it to Modi for bringing the party back to power. “We have faced a loss or two now. So they are also talking. But given the dissent in a section of the party now, this definitely needs to be discussed. I have been speaking to many Cabinet colleagues through the evening. We will see what needs to be done.” Another Union Minister said the move was not “unexpected.”

Sources close to the senior leaders who issued the statement said it was true that the RSS did seek out senior Cabinet ministers, including Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh, for their views on the Bihar debacle. But a source, who did not wish to be named, said: “The RSS brass said ‘aap vishleshan kar leejiye, aap charcha keejiye…’ They generally do not suggest any concrete action.”

Another leader said he was anguished at the revolt. “What do you mean by the absence of consensus in the party? Every decision in the BJP is discussed at the general secretaries meeting or in Parliamentary Board. If these leaders are not members of either, what can we do?” he asked. “The party has seen worse defeats, there was a time we had two seats – at a time when some of these four were at top positions. Now, the BJP is in a comfortable majority at the centre and is in power in majority of the states. Let’s not forget 2009 (when the BJP and its allies led by Advani lost to the Congress-led UPA). Who took responsibility for it?”

But there was also a section that expressed disquiet. Worried at how this statement would be used by the Opposition, emboldened after the Bihar defeat, a BJP leader said: “Either our leaders will start abusing the veterans or some may echo them — both situations hurt us as we move towards Parliament’s winter session beginning November 26.”

The statement by Gadkari, Naidu and Singh said that the party is concerned over the Assembly results in Bihar but it had had won the Lok Sabha elections under Modi, Assemblies in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir apart from the local body polls in different states.”The Party’s Parliamentary Board had a detailed discussion yesterday on the results of the Bihar Assembly Elections. The Party will discuss this matter on various other forums including with senior leaders and attempt to overcome the shortcomings that led to the adverse verdict in Bihar,” it said.

(with Lalmani Varma, Lucknow)