Even as senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh has been left fuming at the “insult” heaped on him through the party decision to deny the Barmer seat, another L K Advani loyalist has been denied renomination in the BJP’s latest list for Gujarat.
It was seven-time MP from Ahmedabad (East) constituency Harin Pathak, whose name was conspicuously missing from the BJP list. And the raw deal meted out to Pathak is likely to spark a fresh row in the party over the way tickets are being allotted to outsiders at the expense of long-time party faithfuls. Curiously, character actor Paresh Rawal, who is a vocal supporter of Modi, figures in the BJP’s list.
Meanwhile, veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who was denied the Barmer LS seat, on Saturday lashed out at the BJP leadership saying that there was a need to differentiate between the fake and the real party.
“We have to differentiate between the real and fake BJP. What is happening now is the difference between real and fake. One has to reflect on the principles for which the party stood and the direction in which it is being led now,” he told reporters in Jodhpur. And the Army Colonel-turned-politico is mulling whether to resign from the BJP and contest the elections as an independent. He brushed aside any other alternative likely to be offered by the party.
He went even a step further to say that there was a need for introspection as some people had encroached upon the party’s ideology and wanted to know what were their aims and gains.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha,Sushma Swaraj on Saturday also came out in support of Jaswant. Expressing deep unhappiness at the development, she said the decision to deny the seat to Jaswant was taken by a select few among the party’s top brass. “As far as the issue of Jaswantji is concerned, it was a decision of the party. It was not a normal decision. Such type of decisions (Asaadharan nirnay) are not taken without any reason,” Sushma told reporters in Bhopal.