Within 24 hours of announcing a “please-all” team for the UP BJP state executive, state party president Surya Pratap Shahi has realised that he has ended up pleasing very few within the party.
A virtual revolt is brewing in the UP BJP over the selection of the state executive with two senior party leaders, Lallu Singh and Jai Prakash Chaturvedi, refusing to accept their posts on the grounds that the responsibility given to them does not correspond with their seniority and status. Both the leaders have been made regional heads of Avadh and Kashi prant respectively.
Satyadeo Singh, former MP is also said to be “very unhappy” at being given the post of party spokesman when he was in the running for the party president’s post.
Apart from this, party MLAs and MPs are also disgruntled at being given a raw deal in the party executive.
“While elected representatives have been ignored, those who have lost several elections in a row have been given party posts which shows how serious the BJP is about the 2012 elections,” said a senior MLA who has been left out.
Two BJP MPs, according to sources, are also reported to be “livid” with the new executive.
Yogi Adityanath (Gorakhpur) is said to be upset over the inclusion of Shiv Pratap Shukla as vice president while Rajendra Agarwal (Meerut) is irked at the fact that those party leaders who tried to sabotage his election last year have been included in the new team.
“If those who try to sabotage our elections are given a place of pride in the party organisation, what is the message that the party leadership is trying to send out? We will certainly take up the issue with the party high command,” said one of the MPs.
Allegations are also flying thick that some party posts have been sold for a price. “How else do you explain the inclusion of names like Kavita Choudhury and Major Sunil Dwiwedi, both of whom were in the BSP till a few months ago? Besides this, 43-year-old Harish Dubey has been made the head of the youth wing and Madhu Misra who heads the women’s wing is another nonentity in the list,” said a senior party leader.
While Mr Shahi was not available for comment, sources close to him admitted that the state party chief had received some “objections” and efforts were on to made some rectifications in the list before it is officially released.
A former state BJP president, meanwhile, remarked,” This is a team made up of all losers and with this team you can easily understand what we are heading for in the next Assembly elections in UP.”