After drubbing in Delhi polls, BJP workers in Varanasi get edgy

LUCKNOW: After the BJP's drubbing in Delhi polls, growing rumblings of discontent within the party's ranks are evident as far as Varanasi, where Narendra Modi had worked up a massive wave from the seemingly still waters of the Ganga just nine months ago. A group of workers that calls itself Namo Army and was among the first few voices from the ground to seek Modi's candidature from the holy city in the Lok Sabha elections says it is finding it increasingly difficult to face the voters, who complain that little has changed on the ground.

On a more personal note, some members of the group say they are disappointed at the lack of recognition of their efforts in the party. "We are subjected to taunts and derision. People feel I have direct access to the big leaders of the party and can get things done, but the fact remains that I cannot even get their train reservations confirmed," said Dharmendra Gupta, one of the founders of the group, which came up with the slogan 'Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi'.

Modi's decision to contest from Varanasi, in addition to Vadodara in Gujarat, is believed to have helped the BJP triumph in 71 of UP's 80 seats while the party's ally Apna Dal picked up another two seats, sealing absolute majority in Lok Sabha. The Varanasi district chief of Namo Army, Gupta directs his ire at the BJP-led government at the Centre more than the local unit.

"Though BJP's district office-bearers remain the same, the real people running the show are outsiders, who have now suddenly turned a blind eye to us," he said Ashutosh Dixit, the state chief of Namo Army, also said that it is getting harder to pacify the people who had voted for the BJP in the hope of achche din (good days).

"We brought support of those to the BJP who were not even remotely sympathetic to the party. Now that the party is in power, they come to us with their problems, and we have no answers," he said. Talking about specific issues, he said, "Modi promised that illegal Bangladeshis would be sent back, but that is yet to happen. The government announced Rs 100 crore for modernisation of madarsas in the budget but did not offer anything for gurukuls."