Dissenters free to talk to me, says BJP chief

A day after Shatrughan Sinha openly expressed reservations about the choice of the new BJP office-bearers, party president Nitin Gadkari said all those dissatisfied were free to talk to him personally.

A day after Shatrughan Sinha openly expressed reservations about the choice of the new BJP office-bearers, party president Nitin Gadkari said all those dissatisfied were free to talk to him personally.

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This happened on a day when murmurs of discontent grew louder. Shahnawaz Husain’s staying away from a meeting of new spokespersons has further fuelled speculation.

“Senior leaders from Bihar have been ignored,” former Union minister C P Thakur reportedly said. “There is a dominance of Marathis.”

Bihar is going to the polls soon. This has added fodder to the simmering discontent, which is also believed to have been caused by the fact that the only two office-bearers from Bihar – general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad and vice-president Kiran Ghai – are Kayasths. Other upper castes, thus, reportedly feel ignored.

However, Sinha, a Kayasth, remained sullen. He said deserving leaders like Yashwant Sinha, C.P. Thakur and B C Khanduri had been ignored.

Khanduri is also reportedly displeased because while he has been ignored, his rival Bhagat Singh Koshiyari has been appointed vice-president.

But, Gadkari told NDTV, “...I tried to accommodate everybody. I can't satisfy everybody... As the president of the party, if anyone has any problem, he has the right to discuss it with me.”