Speculation about the return of firebrand saffron leader Uma Bharti to the BJP by May-end is in the air as the core group of the party is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, with the issue being high on the agenda.
Sources in the BJP confirmed that the two issues — the return of Ms Bharti to the party fold and assigning election related work in Uttar Pradesh to exiled former general secretary (organisation) Sanjay Joshi — are on the agenda of the core group meeting, which will be chaired by president Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday.
Though there has always been talk of Ms Bharti’s return to the party fold since Mr Gadkari took charge, resistance has always been there from the Madhya Pradesh unit and also from a section of the central leadership, considered to be close to senior leader L.K. Advani.
However, now it seems Mr Gadkari managed to convince his senior colleagues in the party that Ms Bharti, who is a Lodh, may prove to be effective in galvanizing the non-Yadav OBCs in UP, which is slated for polls during next summer. Moreover, the issue of actively involving Mr Joshi in the party’s electoral plans in UP is also likely to be taken up at the meeting. Mr Joshi has not been in good terms with Mr Advani and Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.