BJP’s problem of plenty in Maharashtra: Ticket unrest in corporation polls lays bare the cost of success, party’s high ambitions

While this insider versus outsider debate has resurfaced before major elections in the past, it remained mostly confined to speaking out against the party’s decision and there was no large-scale upheaval. This time, the dissent within the ranks forced Fadnavis to deploy ministers and senior party leaders to placate the aspirants who missed out on a ticket and the rebels.

The BJP has given tickets to 337 candidates in 29 corporations, of which it has an alliance with other Mahayuti constituents in 15. Though the number of new entrants is not massive in absolute terms, it has triggered rumblings within the party’s ranks. The districts where most of these new entrants have been accommodated are Nanded, with 45, followed by 30 each in Solapur and Jalna, 28 in Navi Mumbai, 25 in Pune, and 24 in Nashik.  In Mumbai, the party has given tickets to 15 of these “outsiders”. The discontent within the party ranks has led to people in the state’s political circles to label state BJP president Ravindra Chavan as the “pravesh adhyaksha and not the pradesh adhyaksha (not the party chief but the induction chief)”.

In Nagpur, 42 office-bearers have resigned in protest, with angry ticket aspirants who had lost out staging demonstrations in the city. In Nashik, the revolt took a serious turn on December 30 after local leaders who had been denied tickets chased the district president and barged into his farmhouse. After that, to prevent untoward incidents, additional police force has been deployed outside the BJP headquarters in Nashik, along with other districts, including Mumbai, as a precautionary measure. Last week, former BJP MLA Devyani Pharande was among the first leaders in Nashik to protest against the so-called turncoats getting tickets.

In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, angry BJP workers gheraoed minister Atul Save and BJP MP Bhagwat Karad to protest against ticket distribution on December 31, while two women workers sat on a hunger strike and another aspirant who poured petrol over himself but was whisked away before anything untoward could happen.

In Solapur, former BJP ministers Subash Deshmukh and Vijay Deshmukh expressed their unhappiness with ticket allocation, with Deshmukh cautioning party leaders about the “serious consequences” of ignoring loyal workers and giving preference to newcomers.

Ambitious target

Acknowledging the BJP’s problem of plenty, a senior party functionary said, “The directive from the Centre is to win each and every election and each and every seat. When you set such an ambitious target, strategists have to resort to all possible methods to ensure quick success. Also, leaders making a beeline to gain entry into the BJP is long and unending. A majority of those who have joined the BJP did so voluntarily, keeping their political career in sight. Today, we opened our gates to one and all. But gradually, the party will have to take a pause and think. It will have to apply strict parameters, scrutiny, and screening to shortlist candidates in electoral politics.”

A long-time BJP worker in Mumbai who lost out on a ticket said on the condition of anonymity, “We came to the party when nobody believed it would see power. We were happy staging demonstrations. Now, when we are in power, we have to continue rolling out the red carpet for outsiders. The top leadership knows a diehard BJP worker is not going to leave, as he or she has no other option.”

However, BJP minister Girish Mahajan, the guardian minister for Nashik and poll in-charge claimed the problem was not as extensive as was being made out. “We can understand the sentiments of aspirants denied tickets. But the party is not ignoring loyalists as is being depicted. We have always given maximum preference to original BJP workers. We will also address concerns of all those who feel left out,” he said.

Senior minister and former state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule underplayed the unrest, saying, “The party has always given preference to loyalists. For every seat, there are many candidates in the BJP. So, accommodating everybody is not possible. The BJP will surely give every candidate their due in organisation.”