For BJP, timing of SC order on Vyapam scam couldn’t have been more wrong

“Any hope that we had of Parliament transacting meaningful business has vanished. It will also hurt us politically,” admitted a senior party leader.

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Party sources said the leadership is awaiting the return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from abroad to chalk out a strategy to deal with the fallout of the SC order.

With the opposition flaunting a victory after the CBI probe was ordered, BJP floor managers have prepared their defence for the monsoon session. They will argue that the opposition should wait for the inquiry to end. “Let the CBI probe take place. The Congress should not indulge in politics on it anymore. The Congress should keep quiet,” BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

The Prime Minister, who had flagged the BJP’s scam-free record repeatedly during the government’s anniversary celebration, is said to be concerned about the loss of face the party has suffered of late due to controversies involving Union ninister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who have been criticised for helping Lalit Modi. “Vyapam is not just a propriety issue, it is much beyond that. There are allegations against close family members of the present chief minister. Vyapam-related deaths have compounded our troubles,” admitted a senior party leader.

The BJP is also troubled by internal troubles with former chief ministers Uma Bharti and Babulal Gaur making public statements indirectly expressing their dissatisfaction with the way matters have unfolded. “The party will be in a tight spot if anyone makes a statement against the chief minister or the leadership. It has to tread cautiously,” a leader said, adding that there is “no dearth of disillusioned leaders” as a section of the party and the RSS feels that Chouhan did nothing to support them during the crisis over the Vyapam allegations.

BJP leaders said that Chouhan or Raje’s political troubles might not in themselves be worrying for Prime Minister Modi, who is known not to share warm relations with either of the CMs, but the “public perception” against the party and the “loss of credibility for its leaders” would test the party as well as the government.