None of the Bharatiya Janata Party workers gathered in Gauri Bazar in the Uttar Pradesh district of Deoria one day last week seemed especially interested in discussing their party’s poll-preparedness in the constituency. Instead, they were debating party leader Rajnath Singh’s chances in Lucknow. Any remark that the BJP chief was facing a difficult challenge drew cheers, and the comment by one of the BJP workers that Singh might even lose the election made most of them ecstatic.
“I would be happy if the party wins all seats in Uttar Pradesh except Lucknow,” said one BJP worker. Added another, “It is because of him that the party workers are so demoralised in Deoria.” Said a third, “True BJP workers are on margins and the fake ones are taking all decisions.” He was wearing a saffron T-shirt with the slogan: Bharat mein Modiraj, Deoria mein Kalraj.
The BJP’s decision a month ago to field Kalraj Mishra from Deoria evoked massive protest in several parts of the constituency. Mishra was given the ticket over Surya Pratap Shahi and Sri Prakash Mani Tripathi. BJP party workers saw in this decision an attempt by Rajnath Singh to marginalise Shahi, who once headed the BJP unit in the state. The enraged workers burnt effigies of Mishra as well as of Singh to register their protest.
In the course of time, it seems as if Shahi had been pacified. He even accompanied Kalraj Mishra to file his nomination papers on April 22. But it is common knowledge in Deoria that neither Shahi nor the majority of the constituency’s BJP workers are happy about this decision.
Until Mishra’s candidature was announced, Deoria was considered one of the seats in eastern UP that the BJP would win easily. “It is no longer so,” said a senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity. “There is widespread unrest among party workers. Now only the wave of Narendra Modi can see us through.”
Since mid-1990s, the BJP has had a strong presence in Deoria. Till 2004, the battle for constituency was fought between the BJP and Samajwadi Party. In 1996, BJP’s Sri Prakash Mani Tripathi won the seat, and in 1998, he was defeated by SP’s Mohan Singh. In 1999, Tripathi once again won it and was once again defeat by Mohan Singh in 2004. But in the 2009 polls, the Bahujan Samaj Party’s Gorakh Prasad Jaiswal left both the BJP and SP behind.
This time round, it appeared that Deoria would once again go the BJP. But the initial upsurge did not last long. The internal squabbles in the BJP have opened up the field for the BSP.
Shahi, who claims that he harboured no ill-feeling for Kalraj Mishra and Rajnath Singh, admitted to Scroll.in that a “proper distribution” of tickets would have improved the chances of the BJP – and not just in Deoria. “In several seats, the chances of the BJP would have been better had there been proper distribution of tickets,” he said. “The party should have fielded deserving candidates.”
Indeed, several “deserving candidates” in several of the constituencies in eastern Uttar Pradesh are up in arms against the BJP’s official candidates. In addition to Deoria, the prominent constituencies in which the BJP is finding it difficult to quell the open rebellion within its ranks are Faizabad, Bhadohi, Chandauli, Jaunpur, Sonbhadra, Ghosi, Salempur, Mirzapur, Gonda and Kaisarganj.
“The wave cannot take you anywhere on its own,” said BJP leader who asked to remain unidentified. “It has to be harnessed. But you can’t do that if all your local leaders feel left out. Why would otherwise our committed workers wish a defeat for Rajnath Singh?”
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“I would be happy if the party wins all seats in Uttar Pradesh except Lucknow,” said one BJP worker. Added another, “It is because of him that the party workers are so demoralised in Deoria.” Said a third, “True BJP workers are on margins and the fake ones are taking all decisions.” He was wearing a saffron T-shirt with the slogan: Bharat mein Modiraj, Deoria mein Kalraj.
The BJP’s decision a month ago to field Kalraj Mishra from Deoria evoked massive protest in several parts of the constituency. Mishra was given the ticket over Surya Pratap Shahi and Sri Prakash Mani Tripathi. BJP party workers saw in this decision an attempt by Rajnath Singh to marginalise Shahi, who once headed the BJP unit in the state. The enraged workers burnt effigies of Mishra as well as of Singh to register their protest.
In the course of time, it seems as if Shahi had been pacified. He even accompanied Kalraj Mishra to file his nomination papers on April 22. But it is common knowledge in Deoria that neither Shahi nor the majority of the constituency’s BJP workers are happy about this decision.
Until Mishra’s candidature was announced, Deoria was considered one of the seats in eastern UP that the BJP would win easily. “It is no longer so,” said a senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity. “There is widespread unrest among party workers. Now only the wave of Narendra Modi can see us through.”
Since mid-1990s, the BJP has had a strong presence in Deoria. Till 2004, the battle for constituency was fought between the BJP and Samajwadi Party. In 1996, BJP’s Sri Prakash Mani Tripathi won the seat, and in 1998, he was defeated by SP’s Mohan Singh. In 1999, Tripathi once again won it and was once again defeat by Mohan Singh in 2004. But in the 2009 polls, the Bahujan Samaj Party’s Gorakh Prasad Jaiswal left both the BJP and SP behind.
This time round, it appeared that Deoria would once again go the BJP. But the initial upsurge did not last long. The internal squabbles in the BJP have opened up the field for the BSP.
Shahi, who claims that he harboured no ill-feeling for Kalraj Mishra and Rajnath Singh, admitted to Scroll.in that a “proper distribution” of tickets would have improved the chances of the BJP – and not just in Deoria. “In several seats, the chances of the BJP would have been better had there been proper distribution of tickets,” he said. “The party should have fielded deserving candidates.”
Indeed, several “deserving candidates” in several of the constituencies in eastern Uttar Pradesh are up in arms against the BJP’s official candidates. In addition to Deoria, the prominent constituencies in which the BJP is finding it difficult to quell the open rebellion within its ranks are Faizabad, Bhadohi, Chandauli, Jaunpur, Sonbhadra, Ghosi, Salempur, Mirzapur, Gonda and Kaisarganj.
“The wave cannot take you anywhere on its own,” said BJP leader who asked to remain unidentified. “It has to be harnessed. But you can’t do that if all your local leaders feel left out. Why would otherwise our committed workers wish a defeat for Rajnath Singh?”