The Bharatiya Janata Party’s tacit support to Independent candidate Anshuman Mishra’s Rajya Sabha nomination from Jharkhand — by sidelining SS Ahluwalia — has triggered a rift between party heavyweights.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu are seen to be backing Mishra, while BJP veteran LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Yashwant Sinha are against him. Sinha, the Hazaribagh MP, said Advani had assured him he would resolve the issue. "Such nominations have been the bane of Jharkhand and again the state is falling into the same murky trap."
Sinha added, “The state executive members were present when Mishra, an outsider, filed his nomination. This means the state unit (of the party) has given him tacit support. Our party image has suffered consequently. Mishra is an outsider and has nothing to do with Jharkhand. Ahluwalia (the party’s present Rajya Sabha member from Jharkhand) has been and would have continued to be an asset to the party.”
A senior BJP leader on Tuesday said Gadkari and Jaitley had wanted Mishra to be nominated for the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand. His nomination has come at the expense of Ahluwalia, the deputy leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha, who is close to Sushma Swaraj. According to the party leader, Swaraj wants Ahluwalia to continue in his position.
{{/usCountry}}A senior BJP leader on Tuesday said Gadkari and Jaitley had wanted Mishra to be nominated for the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand. His nomination has come at the expense of Ahluwalia, the deputy leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha, who is close to Sushma Swaraj. According to the party leader, Swaraj wants Ahluwalia to continue in his position.
{{/usCountry}}A source privy to the developments said CM Arjun Munda had met Gadkari on Sunday to bag the nomination for businessman RK Agrawal. After his bid failed, Munda had Agrawal’s independent nomination supported by 10 JMM MLAs, the source added.
A former NDA minister claimed Jharkhand’s nominations to the Rajya Sabha had always been the target of businessmen and controversial figures looking for a “backdoor entry” in the Upper House.