BJP’s bid to sprint on tired legs in poll-bound states
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, July 8: The talent pool within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fast appears shrinking. Even while BJP chief JP Nadda helms the saffron outfit now for more than three years, he’s seen to have not been able to draft in fresh legs to run the poll machineries of the saffron outfit.
Prakash Javdekar was ousted from the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi almost two years ago for reasons not officially stated. But since his ouster from the Modi Cabinet, Javdekar, 72, faded from the political limelight.
Last Javdekar was known to have been heading a promotional team within the BJP for the book Modi@20, an account of the incumbent prime minister written by several people to praise him. He was overseeing programmes to hold conclaves with the cross-section of the society to promote the book as part of the exercise of the party to further build on ‘Brand Modi’.
Javdekar as a Minister in the Modi Cabinet had held key portfolios, including Information and Broadcasting, while also being election in-charge for Karnataka for the 2018 Assembly election. Now, Javdekar has made a comeback as an election in-charge for Telangana for the BJP where the saffron outfit is reportedly battling serious infighting, while the Congress is seen gaining by inducting former MLAs, and MPs from the ranks of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Within the BJP, it’s being stated that Javdekar’s return from the oblivion shows shrinking talent pool in the Modi Cabinet who can be assigned the election task. It may be noted that the BJP, in general, appoints Cabinet Ministers as election in-charges for the poll-bound states.
Rajya Sabha MP and senior BJP leader Om Mathur, 71, also had also met with similar fate as that of Javdekar after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. While being the BJP Vice President, he had been in-charge of key states, including Jharkhand. He was the in-charge for Jharkhand Assembly election in 2019 when the saffron outfit lost power after the BJP could not hold on to allies and senior leaders in the run up to the poll.
Mathur also makes a comeback as an election in-charge for Chhattisgarh where the BJP is seen to be at sea in search of narrative and leadership to take on to the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress in the tribal-dominated state. The BJP has not appointed any Cabinet Minister as an election in-charge for Telangana and Chhattisgarh. Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, also a trusted lieutenant of Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah, will helm the election task in Madhya Pradesh. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has been given the task of Rajasthan.
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