B C Khanduri only scapegoat in BJP rout

NEW DELHI: The poll debacle suffered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the just-concluded polls has taken its first toll. Uttarakhand chief minister B C Khanduri, widely blamed for leading the party to its worst-ever performance in the state since its inception, put in his papers on Tuesday.

Mr Khanduri has, it is learnt, handed over his resignation to BJP president Rajnath Singh, who is expected to forwarded it to the state governor only after the conclusion of the by-election to the Kapkot assembly seat on May 28.

The by-election has been necessitated by Bhagat Singh Koshiyari���s elevation to the Rajya Sabha in November last. The wheel has turned full circle now as Mr Koshiyari is now tipped to replace Mr Khanduri.

The by-election to the Kapkot assembly constituency will be followed by another electoral battle in the state. The by-poll to the Vikasnagar seat, which had fallen vacant following sitting BJP MLA Munna Singh Chauhan���s decision to switch allegiance to BSP on the eve of the general election, is expected to follow suit soon. Mr Chauhan was fielded by Ms Mayawati from the Pauri Lok Sabha constituency, but was relegated to the third position.
In the 70-member assembly, the BJP-led government is precariously perched. It is left with just 33 MLAs following the resignations of Mr Koshiyari and Mr Chauhan. The party is critically dependent on the support extended by the three-member UKD and two independents.

BJP high command has only itself to blame for the mess in Uttarakhand. Even before the counting for the general election could start, the indications emerging from the five Lok Sabha constituencies were not found to be too encouraging. All the five candidates were confronted with complaints against the state government and the chief minister���s style of functioning. The feedback had been passed on to the central leaders.

Mr Khanduri, an ex-army man, was not only accused of being too inaccessible and brash, the leadership had also been apprised of complaints of widespread corruption against the state government. Mr Khanduri���s work-style had triggered a full-blown revolt within the party���s state unit late last year, with as many as 17 MLAs seeking a leadership change in the state.

BJP���s central leadership, however, refused to take cognisance of the revolt. It, instead, shifted Mr Koshiyari to the Rajya Sabha in the hope of quelling the infighting. They are now repenting that decision, as BJP was wiped out from the state in the Lok Sabha polls. It lost all five seats to the Congress.

Mr Khanduri, who arrived in the Capital on Monday to attend the meeting of chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states, met L K Advani and BJP president to offer his side of the story. The leadership, however, remained unconvinced, and asked him to resign.