NEW DELHI, 30 May 2004 — The crisis in the Gujarat BJP seems to have blown over, at least for now. Defending Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP central leadership has said that there will not be a change of guard in the state leadership.
The dissident leaders, who have kicked off a campaign for the removal of Modi, however, succeeded in convincing the party’s top leadership that the chief minister would have to change his style of functioning and that a central intervention to take corrective measures was required.
The party leadership took swift actions to contain the crisis but asserted that Modi would not be removed. BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu made it clear that there was no question of changing the leadership in Gujarat. He said that those demanding a change should stop making adverse remarks about Modi in public and that party MLAs would be heard out soon. He said he had spoken to the state party chief Rajendrasinh Rana in this regard. “I have asked him to tell the legislators not to air their grievances in public and that they will be heard out after the assembly session is over.”
Sources said senior party leaders told Modi to look into the grievances of the disgruntled legislators. They said Modi may expand his Cabinet. The present strength of his Council of Ministers is 14 and there is scope for induction of 10 new ministers. It would also be expected of him to have greater interaction with party legislators in matters relating to governance, a senior party leader said.
He, however, did not agree with the view that the party should have accepted Modi’s resignation at the Goa national executive meeting, saying Gujaratis had given a two-thirds majority to Modi in the assembly elections after Godhra and the subsequent riots. In the Lok Sabha elections too, the party had won 14 of the 26 seats. “We would definitely be looking into the causes for losing 7 seats,” he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to announce the party’s new central officials and the national executive either on June 2.
“My list is ready. I am waiting for the parliamentary party meeting on June 1 when its office bearers would be decided. After that, I will announce my team either the same day or the next,” Naidu told reporters.
Many senior party leaders, who were in the government, including some who were defeated in the recent election, are expected to find berths in the new party setup.
Earlier, former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani said the new national executive would meet in “mid-June”. Asked as to who would be the leader of the opposition, Advani said: “The parliamentary party is meeting on June 1. Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has already expressed his view in this regard.”
He also parried a question on the possible return of Swadeshi ideologue K.N. Govindacharya to the party fold. He expressed gratitude for the “hard work” put in by the Sangh Parivar cadres in the elections.
