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Journalism of Courage
Firebrand BJP leader Uma Bharati called on party chief L.K. Advani at his residence this morning, indicating that patch-up efforts are on to bring her on board as one of the BJP’s seven general secretaries.
Bharati, who refused the post last week, is believed to have ‘‘calmed down’’ and held discussions with her self-confessed ‘‘mentor’’ today, the details of which were not divulged.
Sources said Advani was ‘‘upset’’ at Bharati’s ‘‘tantrum’’ — her refusal to be general secretary and her supporters’ campaign against Pramod Mahajan had only undermined Advani’s authority.
The sanyasin’s decision to call on him was a peace offering of sorts and could pave the way for her appointment as general secretary. That only six general secretaries were appointed and one position left vacant is indication enough that doors have not been shut on Bharati, sources said.
However, the former CM’s biggest grouse is the manner in which she has been sliced out of her home state’s affairs over the last few months. Bharati feels she played a big role in securing an unprecedented three-fourth majority for the BJP in the Assembly elections. But once she resigned, her opponents grabbed the opportunity to remove her from the scene permanently.
She is learnt to be keen on having a greater say in the running of MP — either as general secretary in-charge of the state or as chairperson of a special ‘‘coordination committee’’ to oversee the state’s affairs.
A powerful section in the party feel Advani has pandered to her too many times and did the right thing by keeping her out this time. But Advani is keen on projecting a united team and Bharati’s presence — as one of the party’s biggest mass leaders who embodies the saffron-OBC-woman triple combo — will add weight to the organisation, others feel.
While the anti-Bharati group insists she be made general secretary only if she comes ‘‘without any conditions’’, those in her favour feel she should not buckle under ‘‘emotional blackmail’’ and hold out for a little longer. A compromise formula might be worked out, with Bharati being given some role in her home state but not reinstated either as CM or bestowed with the ‘‘super CM’’ role either, sources said.
