State BJP treads cautiously over Yaswant’s letter

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi June 15 Front Page

Some of splinters of the letter bomb that former BJP national vice-president Yaswant Sinha dropped on party's national president Rajnath Singh have reached Jharkhand.

Although, Sinha's letter has ensued regrouping in the State BJP, State BJP leaders might take some time to cross their loyalty both off and on the record.

State BJP leaders reacted cautiously over this thud. However, the content of the letter, opening with Dear Rajnathji, and going shriller further, is the most sought after among party leaders to get some insight of the mind of Sinha and his political plan in the coming days.

It took no time for the State BJP house to buzz with several theories after Sinha relinquished party posts. If a senior BJP leader --- nowadays in hibernation --- is to be believed, his letter could be an indicator of his warning to quit party.

Quite unaffected from such media babble and political prediction, Sinha was basking in the glory of public felicitation in his Hazaribagh constituency on Sunday. Apart from general public the meeting had a huge gathering of the local BJP leaders and workers.

What Sinha spoke on this occasion had no political overture, but he gave the sense of an engaged politician well connected to the public. In his letter, Sinha has admitted himself not belonging to that category of those great leaders who can contest and win elections from anywhere in the country.

"I have been rooted in one constituency, Hazaribagh, ever since I entered politics," Sinha wrote. Some of the State BJP leaders find no merit in what Sinha claims to be and say that his resignation will little affect the prospect of the State BJP. "The State BJP has one obvious loss in his resignation because he was the single leader from Jharkhand who held such an important post in the Central BJP. Even in Jharkhand, he does not have that political clout to affect the BJP in the coming Assembly elections," a BJP worker said.

Hazaribagh is, however, an exception.

Today Arjun Munda camp must be a delighted lot over the open revolt of Sinha. Munda did not speak too much over his resignation. "Sinha's revolt could affect the party's prospects in the next Assembly elections in Jharkhand. I tried my best to talk to him over this matter, but I have not been able to do so," he added.

There are still several months left for the Assembly election and the BJP bosses must have some fair idea to arrest any electoral loss that Sinha and his letter could purportedly do. Munda got instant dividend. Sinha, as the contender for the Chief Minister post, has been a fallen angel and the content of his letter will flutter in the stomach of the top BJP leaders.

Nevertheless, some of the party leaders feel that Sinha has taken a calculated risk in taking side of BJP patriarch and party's prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani whose leadership has been under fire after the defeat of the party. "If Sinha has proved himself an all weather friend of Advani, in the coming days, he might get Advani's backing to emerge as the chief ministerial candidate of the party in Jharkhand," said a close aide of Sinha.

Even the BJP veterans like Saryu Rai were surprised to find Sinha speaking against the BJP national president despite having a good relation. It was Rajnath Singh who during the election rally in Ramgarh had declared Sinha as the next finance minister of the NDA if the combine was voted to the power at the Centre.

Promise had no value after the BJP was left to collect the pieces of its crumbled citadels, except in Jharkhand, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. He expected the party leadership will honour him for the victory in Jharkhand; his home State and Karnataka which was under his charge.