Intense lobbying and lack of consensus over the appointment of general secretaries delayed the announcement of BJP chief Rajnath Singh’s team for 2014. The team, expected to be announced on Saturday, will now be finalised in the next couple of days. Sources disclosed that there was a lack of consensus over the appointment of Mr Varun Gandhi, Ms Uma Bharti and Mr Prabhat Jha as party general secretaries.
While Mr Rajnath Singh, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Mr L.K. Advani are in favour of bringing in Mr Gandhi, senior Uttar Pradesh leaders, ranging from Mr Kalraj Mishra to M Vinay Katiyar, are against his inclusion as they feel Mr Gandhi as party general secretary could “eclipse” their dominance in UP politics.
Similarly, another section of central and state leaders feel Ms Bharti’s significance in national politics has completely “waned”. There is also strong opposition to the inclusion of Mr Prabhat Jha.
While Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is likely to be made part of the BJP’s parliamentary board, pressure is being mounted on Mr Singh to bring Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan into the party’s highest policy-making body.
However, Mr Modi’s close associate, former Gujarat minister Amit Shah, will be brought in as a BJP general secretary.