Siddharth Sadralia
Jammu, Sept 15: The anointment of Narendra Modi as BJP prime ministerial candidate might have sent Party's old warhorse L K Advani sulking into the hibernation, the development is likely to recharge the morale of the party cadre that sagged after the seven of its MLAs were shown door after the cross voting fiasco.
Though celebration broke out in state party headquarters following Modi's nomination as party's candidate for the hot seat, there was a hint of gloom on the faces of Advani loyalists.
"They do not have party's agenda to serve, but to tow their respective necessities in line with the central leaders," said one of the Modi's aficionados, a senior party leader.
This cannot be dismissed; however out rightly, that this particular admirer does not have his line of need and deed with any of the central high command's leader, but the Modi wave in Jammu has apparently swept away all misdeeds, barring some, after such announcement by the party's parliamentary board.
"Advani is the person who had been the close observer of the situation in Kashmir and was the most appropriate candidate to look into the Kashmir trouble as PM of India," was one of the concerns of another senior leader of the state party here .
He said besides Advani, Rajnath Singh who was an important leader of the Kashmir study group and Arun Jaitley who has been instrumental in many issues relating to concerns of Jammu and Kashmir are much better placed to solve the hot issues in Jammu and Kashmir.
These allegories however have automatically got nipped, but the real challenge that has brewed up for the state party here is the acid test for which it has to stand tall.
Already faced with close encounter with public aspirations for having failed to keep themselves abreast, the party is seeking salvage through NaMo factor to rechristen its public agenda, particularly eyeing atleast one MP seat after this fresh lease of life.
"Presently all antennas are tuned by the opportunists in the party to get a MP ticket secured for the LS elections, for which six to seven names are making rounds," said one of the confidante privy to party workings.
She said besides the obvious stalwarts in Ashok Khajuria, Nirmal Singh and party president Jugal Kishore Sharma trying their wits and means to grab one, small time aspirants in Shamsher Singh, Satpal Sharma and Chander Prakash Ganga too keep their desire alive on the issue.
The critical analysts however are of the view that the Jammu party might redeem its lost glory after 2004 to clinch one MP seat at least riding the NaMo success, but as far as its local and regional issues are concerned, party's credentials are still in dilemma as to how to make the inroads back.
While the local voter is much influenced with Modi élan overriding its mindset and the LS election vote may be favoured for the BJP this time, but the same voter has, over the time, grown explicitly to watch its objective on the local issues where the BJP would come in terms with it, seems to be far off cry. |
