BJP trains two guns at Digvijay

By the end of day one of the two-day BJP meeting of the state executive —which is expected to finalise a chargesheet against the Digvijay government in Madhya Pradesh — it was clear today that the party will be ensuring that issues stemming from the Hindutva plank, such as a ban on cow slaughter or the status of the Bhojshala/Kamal Maula masjid, will continue to be invoked as and when appropriate while the party will milk the lack of development issue as much as it can.

Making this clear at a press conference before the start of the proceedings, BJP national president Venkiah Naidu said: ‘‘Development will be the main issue but we will not shy away from other issues such as a ban on cow slaughter, a common civil code or any other local issue of importance.’’

The thinking behind such an attitude is evident. Most party leaders believe that the power shortage in the state will be the most potent issue in this Assembly election but remain unsure of Digvijay’s ability to ‘‘manage’’ potentially troublesome problems. In fact, time and again party leaders advised against over-confidence.

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CM on short fuse

Digvijay Singh is overly sensitive to criticism on the power front. Two days ago, his convoy was accosted by women from the Nari Chetna Manch, with slogans like ‘‘Jo sarkar bijli paani de na sake woh sarkar nikammi hai’’. As soon as the convoy passed, cops lathicharged the women, arrested 32. They continue to be in jail. —ENS

It was in this context that Naidu cautioned the delegates about the need for a better coordination among the RSS cadres and the BJP workers in the state. Uma Bharti has been designated as the face of the campaign while the RSS controls the strings. This has left many of the BJP leaders, without close links in the RSS, out of the loop.