It is neither the party ideology nor the political complexities that are delaying the BJP list for the UP Assembly elections.
It is the clamour of relatives — wives, sons, daughters — for tickets that is forcing the party to delay the decision.
With almost all other parties having opted for a generation leap in UP politics, the BJP is no different. The only difference is that in parties like the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, acceptance of new generation leaders has not been a problem and Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Jayant Choudhury have been readily accepted by the party rank-and-file.
The BJP, which is a multi-leader cadre-based party, the induction of relatives is posing a major problem with the cadres strongly resisting the move to impose family-oriented politics.
Talking on condition of anonymity, a senior BJP leader admitted that relatives were a major hurdle in declaration of candidates.
“Almost all senior party leaders in UP are seeking tickets for their sons, daughters and relatives without taking the winnability factor into consideration. The BJP is not a one-leader party and accommodating everyone is a major problem. Even senior leaders like Om Prakash Singh and Dr Ramapati Ram Tripathi, whose sons have lost the last Lok Sabha elections, want Assembly tickets for them. BJP MPs want their wives and daughters to contest the Assembly polls. Where will this leave the ordinary and dedicated party worker,” said the leader.