BJP looks for a name to match Jogi, Shukla

The central leadership is clued-up to the situation and BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan was sent here this week. ‘‘Mahajan did a thorough study. He spoke to all (leaders) but did not give any impression regarding his plans,’’ says a senior MLA. But Mahajan gave ample indications about the party’s strategy to target Jogi on a series of issues like his tribal identity, IB document controversy, conversions, corruption and misuse of government machinery to frame cases against political opponents.

Party sources claim Mahajan collected feedback on the political clout of Raman Singh. ‘‘The issue of leadership is wide open. Why Raman Singh alone, here we can project more than one leader,’’ says Mahajan. The real problem for the party is not selecting a leader but his acceptability, within the party and among the voters. After the division of Madhya Pradesh, the party hardly has a charismatic leader who can keep the flock together. This is the reason why the party lost 12 MLAs to the Congress, leaving the cadres demoralised.

The state unit received its much needed boost when Singh was chosen. He was sent to the organisation along with Uma Bharati and Vasundhara Raje in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively. But this two-time MLA and currently Lok Sabha member lacks Jogi’s fighter instinct. Union ministers Ramesh Bais and Dilip Singh Judeo have been told to assist him.

The party’s worries are equally deep-rooted in caste arithmetic, especially after Jogi’s successful attempts at creating sharp caste polarisation. The party therefore sees Judeo, a hardcore Hinduvta face, as its potential leader to mobilise mass support. Judeo, also known as the Narendra Modi of Chhattisgarh, is already popular for his ghar-vapsi (de-conversion) campaign in the state. But since Judeo is a Rajput leader, the party has roped in kurmi leader Bais as well.