LS Polls: Now, BJP faces dissent over Lucknow seat for Rajnath Singh

NEW DELHI: BJP's blues over tickets for its top guns deepened on Sunday with sitting Lucknow MP Lalji Tandon signalling his reluctance to vacate the seat for party president Rajnath Singh, saying he would do so only for PM candidate Narendra Modi.


Asked what he would do if Singh wanted to shift to Lucknow, Tandon said, "As I said, I will readily vacate it for Modi and I have no idea about what anybody else wants. Nobody has spoken to me yet." He was speaking against the backdrop of indications that Singh may shift from Ghaziabad to Lucknow.

Tandon's comments came on a day when senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi kept up pressure on the BJP brass to re-nominate him from Varanasi by saying the leadership would not take any decision which would hurt the image of the party or its PM candidate Narendra Modi.

Will follow whatever BJP brass decides: Joshi

A day after protesting to the BJP leadership about the speculation that he might have to vacate Varanasi for Narendra Modi, Murli Manohar Joshi said, "Jo bhi faisla hoga, woh wahan hoga aur wahan hamara pradhan mantri pad ke ummidwar Shri Narendra Modi upasthit honge aur unki upasthiti mein hoga. Aur, shayad aisa koyi baat parliamentary board nahi karegi jisse party ki ya unki pratistha par kisi prakar ki koi baat ho (whatever decision is taken at the meeting (of the central election committee on March 13), in the presence of our PM candidate, it will hopefully not impact either the party's or Modi's own image)."

Joshi, who was replying to questions from persistent reporters, strongly denied that there were differences in the party on whether Modi should replace him as the candidate from Varanasi. He expressed annoyance with the media for "negative" reports on the issue and stressed that he would abide by whatever decision the party took.

However, his comment that the party and Modi should factor in the repercussions that their decision on Varanasi may have for their reputation, may appear to be tactical in the context of the premium that Sangh Parivar puts on age and seniority. Party circles interpreted it as a cautionary note that getting him to quit Varanasi for Modi might be seen as disrespect to the party veteran.

Joshi's remarks coincided with a report from Bangalore indicating that the RSS leadership was concerned about the unfolding dynamics over the Varanasi seat, but felt confident that the BJP leadership would be able to sort out the issue. "We are worried and also not worried ... We feel they (BJP) are experienced enough as we had seen on earlier occasions. They are capable. They will solve the problem," PTI quoted RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyaji Joshi as saying in response to queries from media.

The majority group in BJP leadership wants Modi to contest from Varanasi, reckoning that this will boost the prospects of party candidates on 28 seats in eastern UP while acting as a force multiplier in the largest state which, with 80 Lok Sabha constituencies, holds the key to BJP's power run. However, supporters of Joshi, who won the Varanasi seat last time after shifting from Allahabad, have chosen not to heed the barrage of signals about Modi's likely shift.

At the central election committee meeting on Saturday, Joshi had taken exception to reports that he may be asked to contest from Kanpur and demanded that the leadership clear the air. The meeting also saw leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj raising objection to the return of party rebel B R Sriramulu, triggering speculation about revival of resistance to the ascendancy of Modi-Rajnath Singh just ahead of LS polls. Sources in the party confirmed there have been rumblings, suspecting details of Saturday's deliberations were "leaked" as part of a plan.