Uma Bharti has some more disturbing news for the BJP leadership that expelled her. According to sources, a few “dissident” BJP leaders — including a senior member — have assured the sanyasin of crossing over to her newly launched political outfit. But there is a condition.
Uma has been “advised” to profile herself as the new messiah of the backward classes instead of a strident champion of Hindutva. She has been told that coming as she does from the Lodh caste, she can muster support from other regional backward caste outfits and emerge as a big challenge to the BJP in UP, Uttaranchal and MP.
These leaders are learnt to have cautioned Uma against making her Bhartiya Janshakti Party a “clone” of the BJP. If it turns out to be so, they would prefer to “stay with the original”. Uma has also been advised to cash in on her popularity with the saffron cadre and go to town with details of how “she has been mistreated and discriminated against by
BJP bosses”.
Some senior BJP leaders concede there is widespread “sympathy” for her among them as well as the cadre. According to sources, Uma is in constant touch with those BJP leaders perceived as “sidelined and disgruntled”. Among those she has tapped for support are Jana Krishnamurthy, Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Madan Lal Khurana.
{{/usCountry}}Some senior BJP leaders concede there is widespread “sympathy” for her among them as well as the cadre. According to sources, Uma is in constant touch with those BJP leaders perceived as “sidelined and disgruntled”. Among those she has tapped for support are Jana Krishnamurthy, Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Madan Lal Khurana.
{{/usCountry}}Sources reveal that Uma, accompanied by Khurana, called on senior leaders to elicit support as a run-up to the formal launch of her party in Ujjain on Sunday.
The sanyasin is learnt to have told the leaders she met about her views on swadeshi, reservation, dealing with Bangladeshi migrants, attitude towards minorities, conversion of Hindus, foreign policy, FDI and the stand her party will take on them. Some seniors like Yashwant Sinha are understood to hold views on these issues that are totally diverse to those announced by the BJP top brass.