Straying From The Flock

The influx of rebels from other parties has bred disaffection within the state BJP ranks

- Ashish Misra

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s ignoble defeat at the hands of a united opposition in the all-important Lok Sabha byelection in Kairana appears to have blown the lid on the hotpot of disaffection that is brewing within the saffron party.

When the debacle became obvious during the counting of votes on May 31, Bharatendu Singh, the party’s MP from Bijnor, promptly blamed Bhupendra Chaudhary, Uttar Pradesh’s panchayati raj minister and the election in-charge in Kairana. “Individuals with experience in winning [elections] should have been entrusted with the election,” he said, alluding to the fact that Chaudhary was made a minister despite losing three elections. Only hours later, the party’s Hindutva flag-bearer in western UP and Sardhana (Meerut) legislator Sangeet Som also publicly conceded that voters in Kairana were disillusioned with local leaders.