After ‘patch-up’, BJP leaves Munde in the lurch

Gopinath Munde may have announced his decision to stay with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however the party leadership seems to be in no mood to address the disgruntled leader’s concerns.

Gopinath Munde may have announced his decision to stay with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however the party leadership seems to be in no mood to address the disgruntled leader’s concerns.

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BJP president Nitin Gadkari has evaded meeting Munde.

A meeting, to be held on Monday in New Delhi, to address Munde’s concerns, has not taken place.

“The party president is not too happy with Munde’s behaviour of threatening to rebel and holding the party to ransom. The party feels that it does not need to go out of its way to pacify Munde,” said a senior party functionary said.

Most of the party’s top leaders, including LK Advani and Gadkari, have not done much to pacify Munde.

This was unlike in 2008 when the entire party leadership had sprung into action to ask Munde not to quit the party. Munde finally backed down from leaving the party after his meeting with senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj.

Swaraj, who does not gel well with Gadkari, had assured Munde that the party would address his concerns in a meeting on Monday or Tuesday.

However, there seems to be no signs of the meeting.

Munde, who was hoping that the party hierarchy would help him out, was forced to spend Monday at his residence in Mumbai.