The fiery sanyasIn might have dropped a bombshell in Delhi recently, but hundreds of kilometres away in her karmabhoomi, there have hardly been any dissenting voices against BJP president L.K. Advani’s decision to suspend her, at least for now.Ironically, it was Uma Bharati who was credited with having led the BJP to a resounding victory in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, but there have been muted reactions from the state-level leaders, many of whom are Bharati supporters.The only voices of dissent have come in the form of two legislators from Narsighpura — Jalam Singh Patel, brother of former Union minister Prahlad Singh, and Hukum Singh — who have openly denounced the action taken against Bharati. But the state president of the BJP, Kailash Joshi—who is seen as a part of the anti-Uma bharati camp—asserts that all’s well with the state unit.‘‘Barring two legislators, nobody has said anything. In fact, since Jalam and Hukum have written directly to the party high command, I have sought details from Delhi whether any disciplinary action is being taken against them. Once I get a clarification from Delhi, I will issue notices against the two,’’ Joshi told Express.Quite clearly, Joshi is buoyed by the action against Bharati since it has given a shot in the arm to the Chief Minister, Babulal Gaur. In fact, even Gaur had a few days ago welcomed the decision to suspend Bharati following which Jalam Singh Patel had sought action against the CM in a letter addressed to Advani. Interestingly, none of the senior ministers, most of whom were appointed by Bharati, have come out openly against the party high command. BJP insiders revealed that the moment sanyasin was suspended by the party, the anti-Bharati camp led by Gaur, Joshi and party general secretary Captan Singh Solanki swung into action and initiated steps to counter any likely dissensions. What helped the troika was Bharati’s public outburst. ‘‘What she (Bharati) had done in front of the national media was a gross act of indiscipline, and nobody at the state level can afford to justify that. The trio (Gaur, Solanki and Joshi) managed to send that signal across to the sympathetic legislators here,’’ commented a senior leader.Besides, at ground zero here, there is a general feeling among local party leaders that the former general secretary has been isolated in the national political arena, at least for now. ‘‘Nobody, as of today, wants to speak publicly against the suspension,’’ said another leader.But BJP insiders fear the after-effects of the suspension would be felt during the forthcoming civic body elections in the state. With some candidates for the mayoral posts in the state being chosen following Bharati’s ‘‘intervention’’, party leaders have been left wondering whether the cadre would work hard enough to ensure a victory.
