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Maharashtra, Haryana win unlikely to help BJP to achieve Mission 44+ in J&K
Target seems highly impossible with present set of local BJP leaders
10/22/2014 12:08:25 AM
Bharat Bhushan

JAMMU, Oct 21: BJP cadres in the state, like their counterparts in other Indian states, are buoyed by the party's best ever performance in Maharashtra and Haryana but its remarkable victory in the two states is unlikely to help it achieve its Mission 44+ in J&K given the present set of uninspiring, uncharismatic local leaders.
J&K BJP feels that, banking on the 'Modi wave', it can make a history by forming government in J&K for the first time since independence. But no local BJP leader has the charm that can inspire enthusiasm in masses. There is none in the party who can be termed as a crowd-puller or who is widely acceptable to the masses. Party MLAs are faced with serious allegations of avoiding people who call on them at their residences.
"Whenever we go to a city MLA with our problems, we are returned from outside. Either a servant responds to the door bell or a family member with a one line answer - Sahib ghar pe nahin hain," said Praveen Mahajan of Kachi Chawni.
Like Praveen, there are some other BJP workers and office bearers also who have similar complaints to make against their MLA. A BJYM office bearer aspired to get a government contractor's card. He wanted the MLA to speak to a chief engineer in this regard but he too was returned from the door with the same reply.
Some other BJP MLAs were too faced with similar allegations. Even the state BJP president and MP Jugal Kishore Sharma was also not visible in public and party functions nowadays. He seems to have fallen short of the issues needed to strengthen his party and raise the morale of the party cadre. The party at present is devoid of a moving spirit who can put relentless efforts to achieve the impossible - Mission 44+.
The entry of outsiders, like ex-Congress MP Lal Singh, in the party fold has also demoralised the BJP cadres.
He joined the saffron brigade at a time when the level of his public acceptability had dropped considerably and the Jammu people did not take him seriously.
Prof Nirmal Singh has also failed to make a mark. So far, he has not won a single election even as he was fielded by the party in Lok Sabha and state polls. Nothing much can be expected from him also. Ashok Khajuria also could not establish himself as a leader of masses in the state. The party is badly marred by the internal bickerings. So, under the prevailing circumstances, it will be a great achievement of BJP if it succeeds in retaining its 11 seats in the upcoming state polls.
A state BJP leader said the result of the assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana had proved that support for BJP was not waning and the party would come out with clear mandate as and when "J&K goes to polls".
"The Modi wave continues to sweep the country and BJP will come to power in J&K," he hoped.
In a bid to come to power in J&K, BJP is eyeing Hindu voters and tactical alliances with prominent Muslim leaders, including Sajjad Gani Lone of People's Conference, in the valley.
The party's national general secretary J P Nadda also had a meeting with Lone at the latter's Sanant Nagar residence in Srinagar some time back to discuss the possibility of having an alliance with his party.
Dr Hinna Bhat, daughter of former MP and National Conference MLA Muhammad Shafi Bhat has already joined BJP. She is expected to contest from Amira Kadal assembly seat.
In the 87-member state assembly, Kashmir has 46 seats, Jammu 37, and Ladakh four. To form government, a party or an alliance needs to get 44+ seats.
To achieve its Mission 44+, BJP, which won 11 seats from Jammu in the last elections, hopes to win all the 37 Jammu seats this time given its extraordinary performance in the region in parliamentary elections. It won the two Lok Sabha seats of Jammu and Udhampur and one of Ladakh. The other three Lok Sabha seats in the state were won by PDP. Ladakh has four assembly seats. BJP hopes to make a dent there since its nominee won the lone Ladakh Lok Sabha seat by 36 votes.
But all this seems unlikely with the present set of local leaders who have a very low public credibility. The cadre and supporters are also very low on morale because of the negative publicity about BJP's internal bickerings. Differences between some party "veterans" too seem to have taken roots. They have developed so much disliking and hatred for each other that they even don't want to see each other's face.
During elections, some were even heard praying for the defeat of others. This is an open secret. All in the party know about the lack of coordination and deficit of mutual trust among the old heads. The re-entry of Jagdish Spolia and other BJP MLAs, who were ousted from the party for their alleged involvement in the infamous cash-for-vote scam, has made others insecure. These MLAs accuse their party colleagues, including MLAs, of deliberately dragging their names in the scam just to defame them. They are back in the party and will now be waiting for their turn to take a revenge on their rivals.
There is nothing new about infighting in the state BJP. In the last J&K polls, because of the dissension, the party had failed to fully cash in on the Bhum-Bhum Bholey agitation when its acceptability was at its peak in Jammu region. The infighting is still intact and one cannot expect any good for the party in the upcoming assembly polls till the veterans sink their differences and face the electorate unitedly.
Unlike its central body, which has the likes of Rajnath Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, the state BJP has the dearth of charismatic leaders. And those, who were known for raising their voice against any wrong-doing of the state administration, too seem to have become ineffective. The government no more takes them seriously. Reason: They are alleged to be visiting the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues for personal favours, sacrificing the interests of general masses. There are a few instances which show that there is some truth behind these allegations.
During Farooq Abdullah's last tenure as Chief Minister, there was a heated debate in the state Assembly over the issue of corruption. BJP's Choudhary Piara Singh was trying to explain how the state government was riddled with corruption when Ashok Khajuria had risen from his seat and raised anti-Farooq and anti-NC slogans. Farooq had then angrily reacted to the sloganeering and reprimanded the MLA. To the surprise of all those who were in the press gallery, the MLA had quickly and obligingly taken his seat and put his head down without uttering a single word. He had not dared to ask Farooq as to why he had rebuked him like a school headmaster.
The NC leader, who is otherwise known for making off-the-cuff, tongue-in-cheek remarks, looked serious when he remarked: "You people come to me with applications for personal favours. Sit down ........, sit down."
A few months back, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah too had assailed the BJP leaders for trying to project his government as anti-people and themselves as "well-wishers" of Jammu. "You people have never come to me with issues of Jammu but have been regularly visiting me for personal favours," he had remarked.
Not only this, when PDP-Congress government was in power in the state and Mufti Mohammad Syeed was the Chief Minister, a city BJP MLA had gone to Gandhi Nagar with a handful of his supporters and protested outside the official residence of a PDP Minister for "certain" reasons. This MLA had that time created a scene there to allegedly oblige a senior police officer.
With such kind of leaders at the fore front, how can BJP think of achieving the target of 44+ seats? This is just impossible. To even win a respectable number of seats, it would be needing the faces who have a track record of honesty and integrity. But sorry to say, the local BJP unit does not seem to have any such leader. And those, who are acceptable to the masses to some extent, have already been sidelined. Sycophants can't contribute to achieve the target which as of now seems to be unachievable. The party needs to go for a sincere introspection before facing the electorate.
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