Cracks in BJP show as leaders skip Vijay Goel meet

NEW DELHI: In an embarrassing no-show that revealed the cracks in Delhi BJP, most of the leaders, including BJP legislative party leader Harsh Vardhan and BJP veteran V K Malhotra, stayed away from the first meeting called by state chief Vijay Goel to discuss Lok Sabha candidates and the party's campaign plan.

State in-charge Prabhat Jha, organizational secretary Vijay Sharma, MLA from Tughlaqabad Ramesh Bidhuri, among others, were absent from the meeting. The low attendance signals that state leaders are rapidly running out of patience with the BJP high command's dilly-dallying over naming a replacement for Goel, who was recently elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. Of the 24-member committee, only 16 turned up for the meeting.

Interestingly, most of them had attended the 'poll-khol' dharna at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday morning. "It was a hectic day for party leaders. Most of them had told me that they wouldn't be able to attend the meeting due to prior commitments,'' said Goel. But a senior leader claimed that most members were informed about the meeting just a day in advance and were not informed about the agenda.

In the meeting, which lasted over one-and-a-half-hours, the committee took decisions related to preparation for LS polls. "We will be appointing an in-charge for each parliamentary constituency. All party members, including sitting MLAs, will be considered for LS tickets. Winnability will be the only criterion for selecting candidates," said Goel.

But senior leaders say that decisions taken in the meeting are inconsequential, as the strategy for Lok Sabha elections will be worked out only after a new chief is appointed - the announcement is likely soon.

Goel's decision to hold an election committee meeting had surprised many, as he had recently told party members that Tuesday's dharna will be his last event as state chief.

With time running out, the demand for a new party chief is getting louder as ongoing campaigns like 'ek note kamal par vote' have taken a beating due to lack of monitoring.

But due to lack of consensus over who will replace Goel, the decision has been on hold for long. While there are many contenders for the post, Harsh Vardhan is the front-runner. The national leadership is also considering names of Alok Kumar, considered to be close to the Rashtriya Swayamswak Sangh, and BJP vice-president and councillor from Janakpuri, Ashish Sood.