Entering 3rd lap, BJP realises need to correct course

As the frequent fliers in the BJP criss-cross Uttar Pradesh in search of a winning electoral mandate...

As the frequent fliers in the BJP criss-cross Uttar Pradesh in search of a winning electoral mandate, they are conscious of the fact that the party campaign lacks coordination and is hampered by the clash of egos of the local satraps based in Lucknow.

On the eve of the third phase of polls in the crucial state, there is a growing realisation within the central leadership of the BJP that the electoral campaign needs an urgent mid-course correction if the party is to play a pivotal role in the future government formation in Uttar Pradesh. Else, the party will have to reconcile itself to the number three slot in the Assembly behind a resurgent Mayawati and a down-but-not-out Mulayam Singh Yadav.

That the BJP campaign lacks focus and coordination is evident from the rallies planned for Leader of the Opposition LK Advani in Moradabad and Kalaan, near Jalalabad, on Sunday and in eastern UP the following day. Due to mismanagement in logistics, Advani missed the first rally in Moradabad and was nearly three hours late for the one in Kalaan. Apparently, the BJP leader was asked to address a rally in Jalalabad instead of at Kalaan, some 50 km away, in the Muslim heartland of UP.

Travel by road through Mohammedabad and Farukhabad in the Rohilkhand plains and one thing becomes clear: the BJP electoral campaign is wanting in its projection of Kalyan Singh as its candidate for the chief ministerial post. Not only was Kalyan Singh missing in the campaign, but there wasn8217;t even a single poster of the central party leadership around. In sharp contrast were the highly visible campaigns of Mayawati, Mulayam and even the Congress8217;s Rahul Gandhi.

While the party leadership chooses to look the other way, it is conscious that the traditional lack of chemistry between Kalyan Singh and BJP President Rajnath Singh will provide new opportunities for the BJP8217;s rivals, allowing Mayawati more space for caste arithmetics and helping Mulayam strengthen his traditional Muslim-Yadav vote bank. Although the party leadership gave the state unit a dressing down for releasing the party manifesto without Kalyan Singh present at the function, the campaign under Venkaiah Naidu is still to gather steam.

The clash of egos among the BJP state leaders is evident in the manner the Yogi Adityanath crisis was handled. Even though the powerful mahant of the Gorakhnath temple can influence voting in some 64 Assembly constituencies 14 go to poll on Wednesday, the rest on April 23, a section of the party wanted to show him the door. It was only at the last minute that the top party leaders intervened to defuse the crisis. The influence of the Gorakhnath temple trustees over the voter in Purvanchal was evident on Monday when Advani shared the platform with Adityanath at Sant Kabir Nagar in Khalilabad constituency.

The lack of coordination was evident even in Kaptainganj where Advani landed four hours late and had to be virtually begged by the Nagar East candidate to address his election meeting. The collapse of the dais at Kaptainganj as soon as Advani got up to speak seemed to sum it all up.