UP, Goa: Rajnath to take blame, go soft on Tripathi

While there is a strong possibility that BJP President Rajnath Singh will not bring any big change in the UP unit

While there is a strong possibility that BJP President Rajnath Singh will not bring any big change in the UP unit, it is expected that he would take overall responsibility of defeat in Assembly elections in his home state and Goa to scuttle any discussion on the embarrassing issue in the national executive to be held in Delhi on June 25-26.

Although some of the senior leaders of the party with their base in Uttar Pradesh are still tightlipped over their strategy to defend themselves against the humiliating defeat, state unit president Kesri Nath Tripathi has softened his tone. His common refrain now is that though all party leaders had worked whole-heartedly during the elections, the undercurrent was in favour of the BSP.

BJP sources claimed Kalyan Singh and Kalraj Mishra, the two potential critics of the party President, have registered their protest with Rajnath Singh against his shrugging off the responsibility of the defeat. 8220;Kalyan, after resigning from the post of state-in-charge, had suggested an overhaul of the organisation. But his suggestion was ignored. On the other hand, a section of the leaders, who were seeing Kalyan8217;s replacement in Kalraj Mishra, are annoyed after his relocation as in-charge of Bihar,8221; the sources said. They said it was in this backdrop that the RSS had suggested Rajnath to owe the responsibility of the defeat in UP and Goa in his opening speech to calm down his detractors and added that in the given situation he might also avoid taking any harsh decision vis-a-vis Tripathi.

8220;But since Tripathi will complete three years in office on July 17 and organisational elections are expected soon, his re-election will also depend on his personal management. At the same time, his personal defeat in the election cannot be a plea to remove him because he was made the president of the UP unit just after he lost the Lok Sabha election in 2004,8221; the sources added.

When contacted, Tripathi, who has been asked to present a detailed report in regard with party8217;s performance in the state and explain reasons behind the defeat, said he didn8217;t see any reason to blame any single person or just the state unit for any setback.

8220;I got the cooperation of all the leaders and believe that they all worked well for party8217;s success. But since the BSP was apparently the most potential replacement of the SP, the people voted it to avoid a fractured mandate. I am preparing my report in this regard to be presented in the national executive,8221; he said.