Uma Bharti, the OBC face of the Ram Mandir movement, may be re-inducted into the BJP and is likely to lead the party in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Rai reports
Dogged by its own problems, confronted with one internal crisis after another, the 30-year-old BJP is struggling to find direction. It has failed to come up with an effective plan which would give the party a firm footing in the electorally significant state of Uttar Pradesh.
According to party insiders, BJP is not only all set to re-induct senior estranged leader Uma Bharti but also give her the charge of UP to galvanise BJP’s rank and file. The BJP leadership feels she is the rare politician who successfully combined mandir with mandal and is the best weapon to counter Mayawati in a state where caste is the king. The idea to launch Uma Bharti as the face of BJP in UP reportedly came from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who believes she can strengthen the party in Uttar Pradesh. Senior RSS leaders believe that she fits the bill of a “charismatic leader” the party so badly needs to take the SP and the BSP head on.
Moreover, being a firebrand woman leader, Uma is also seen fit to be pitted against BSP supreme and state chief minister Mayawati who is also known for her aggressive style of politics. “She is not new to UP. The party needs a dynamic face that is distant from local factionalism and at the same time understands the internal dynamics of the state,” says a senior BJP leader. Uma Bharti had once been a credible OBC face of the party. Since she belongs to the Lodh community, many leaders believe she would compensate for the loss of Kalyan Singh, another leader from the same community. With her entry, the BJP leadership feels, the operation to transplant backward caste vote bank on a Baniya-Brahmin system can materialise.
Uma was also at the forefront of the Ram Mandir movement and was a star campaigner of BJP during the movement, which had played an important role in the party’s expansion across the country.
Dogged by its own problems, confronted with one internal crisis after another, the 30-year-old BJP is struggling to find direction. It has failed to come up with an effective plan which would give the party a firm footing in the electorally significant state of Uttar Pradesh.
According to party insiders, BJP is not only all set to re-induct senior estranged leader Uma Bharti but also give her the charge of UP to galvanise BJP’s rank and file. The BJP leadership feels she is the rare politician who successfully combined mandir with mandal and is the best weapon to counter Mayawati in a state where caste is the king. The idea to launch Uma Bharti as the face of BJP in UP reportedly came from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who believes she can strengthen the party in Uttar Pradesh. Senior RSS leaders believe that she fits the bill of a “charismatic leader” the party so badly needs to take the SP and the BSP head on.
Moreover, being a firebrand woman leader, Uma is also seen fit to be pitted against BSP supreme and state chief minister Mayawati who is also known for her aggressive style of politics. “She is not new to UP. The party needs a dynamic face that is distant from local factionalism and at the same time understands the internal dynamics of the state,” says a senior BJP leader. Uma Bharti had once been a credible OBC face of the party. Since she belongs to the Lodh community, many leaders believe she would compensate for the loss of Kalyan Singh, another leader from the same community. With her entry, the BJP leadership feels, the operation to transplant backward caste vote bank on a Baniya-Brahmin system can materialise.
Uma was also at the forefront of the Ram Mandir movement and was a star campaigner of BJP during the movement, which had played an important role in the party’s expansion across the country.
But, in the quintessential BJP style, the party is divided over this issue. Party sources say BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Mohan Bhagwat want to welcome Uma back in the BJP ranks, whereas senior leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan are not too happy about this move. Apart from these senior leaders, many other BJP central leaders are also opposed to it as she has a history of bitter clashes with some of them. Former Deputy Prime Minister and BJP stalwart L.K. Advani has reportedly given the green signal to Uma Bharti’s re-entry in the party. Sources close to him confirm the news but don’t see it happening too soon.
Uma Bharti was expelled from the BJP in 2005 after she had attacked senior leaders, including then president Advani. She stormed out of a party meeting after insulting the leader. Uma had shouted about “rootless Rajya Sabha members who plant stories” in television channels and newspapers and had challenged Advani to take disciplinary action against her. That left the BJP leadership with no choice but to suspend her from the primary membership of the party. She then formed her own party called Bhartiya Janshakti Party. Uma Bharti recently resigned from the post of president of her own party. This move is seen as the first step to mend fences with the BJP.
Uma Bharti was expelled from the BJP in 2005 after she had attacked senior leaders, including then president Advani. She stormed out of a party meeting after insulting the leader. Uma had shouted about “rootless Rajya Sabha members who plant stories” in television channels and newspapers and had challenged Advani to take disciplinary action against her. That left the BJP leadership with no choice but to suspend her from the primary membership of the party. She then formed her own party called Bhartiya Janshakti Party. Uma Bharti recently resigned from the post of president of her own party. This move is seen as the first step to mend fences with the BJP.
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