Once again, the BJP’s Uma Bharati problem was on spectacular display. The script was familiar. This time, too, as she has done on previous occasions, she defied the leadership, walked out of a meeting, and announced a yatra to Ayodhya. For all the talk of support, when push came to shove and fisticuffs at the legislature party meeting, her call for an election had no takers. She was left with only 16 MLAs, including three ministers, while 154 MLAs voted for Shivraj Chauhan who replaced Babulal Gaur, ironically, a man Bharati had wanted sacked. But Gaur’s exit was little comfort for the sanyasin. That only came from supporters who shouted slogans and broke furniture outside the BJP office the moment Chauhan walked into the building. The drama began earlier in the day with a “bomb scare” in the Shatabdi Express carrying Chauhan from Delhi to Bhopal. The scare at Jhansi delayed his arrival but could not prevent the inevitable. At first, Bharati, who showed up in Bhopal this morning, put up a brave face. “The party has created history by announcing a name ahead of the legislature party meeting, not even the Congress does it,” she said, and added: “Yes, I am obsessed with the three-fourth majority with which I won the election. Mai Sanyasin hun par manushya bhi hun. Mai hurt hui thi aur isi liye main kisise do din baat nahi karna chahati thi. (I am a sanyasin but I am a human being, too. I was hurt and did not want to speak to anyone for two days.)’’ But behind the scenes, she and her supporters were trying hard to push her name and force an election. Anticipating precisely this, the party had sent Arun Jaitley, Pramod Mahajan, Sanjay Joshi and Rajnath Singh. Jaitley began by reading out the parliamentary board’s decision and cut Bharati short when she wanted to propose a name. “This is not on today’s agenda,” Jaitley curtly announced forcing Bharati to throw a fit. She gave a short speech by describing how “unconstitutional” the party’s decision was but when words did not help, she walked out with ministers Gaurishankar Shejwar, Dhal Singh Bisen and Karan Varma and 13 MLAs. When she began the campaign to oust Gaur, she had claimed signatures of 126 MLAs on Dusshera day. ‘‘I had myself drafted the letter but I did not propose my own name,” she said in the afternoon. “Maine bahut rajya sarkare banayee hai,” she said. But when it mattered most, several of her known supporters simply ditched her. Bharati’s supporters, who had pulled down a welcome arch, once again threatened to turn violent. Heavy police deployment and barricading made the BJP office look like a fortified castle. A riot vehicle was also parked outside the building. Police caned her supporters only after they had caused a lot of damage. Mahajan, Jaitley, Joshi and Rajnath Singh had to make a backdoor entry as Uma’s supporters swelled outside. When asked what action did he propose against Uma and her supporters, Jaitley said, ‘‘We will think about it later. There is enough to report today.’’ Though Chauhan refused to flash the obligatory victory sign, saying, “What victory?”, he allowed himself a rare smile.
