Inside BJP: Opposition to Amit Shah irrelevant. He is set to become party chief after budget

July 4, 2014

Delhi: PM Narendra Modi’s blue-eyed boy Amit Shah appears all set to be the next BJP chief despite the reservations of senior party leaders like Rajnath Singh, LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj. Though there is no official word, the announcement of Mr Shah’s elevation could come soon after the Union budget presentation on 10 July.

“There is no opposition to Amit Shah as party president, even if someone has reservations, it hardly matters,” said a party spokesperson on condition of anonymity. “The party cadres and the people want him to take the charge and lead. Why should the views of two leaders eclipse the massive support that he has? He has shown his capability in Uttar Pradesh, the organizational skills, the quality to lead, that is all what matters.”

Some leaders fear that with the elevation of Amit Shah, Narendra Modi’s control of the BJP will become absolute. But the dominant view is that the Modi-Shah combine benefits the party. “They have won the elections for the party,” said the spokesperson. “It was Modi magic and the hard work of Mr Shah in UP which gave us the great results, why shouldn’t they run the affairs? If we were led by someone else, the results would have been quite different.”

Mr Shah’s organizational skills, the massive electoral success in UP and the backing of the Modi-Jaitley-Gadkari troika has helped his bid for the party’s top post. Sources say Arun Jaitley is lobbying for Mr Shah’s elevation and is speaking to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) through its leader Suresh Soni. However, the final call has to be taken by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and the Sangh’s second-in-command Bhaiyaji Joshi.

Silence of the anti-Shah brigade

Among the government top brass, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj are not keen on Amit Shah’s rise. The home minister and outgoing party president Mr Singh fears that his loyal foot-soldiers will be sidelined in a party led by Amit Shah. Meanwhile Ms Swaraj, along with Lal Krishna Advani,
have not been on good terms with Mr Modi or his loyalists like Mr Shah. Yet, no leader has spoken on the record against Mr Shah, nor have they explicitly backed the other candidates like Jagat Prakash Nadda or Om Mathur.

Initially, Mr Shah’s elevation had seemed tough due to two reasons. First, the court cases against Mr Shah for alleged involvement in the encounter deaths of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and wife Kauserbi and the killing of witness Tulsiram Prajapati. Second, it was assumed that the RSS will be uncomfortable with both the prime minister and party president being from Gujarat.

However, they both seem like non-issues now. “The cases against him are very weak,” said a BJP leader. “And as far as the PM and party chief being from the same state is concerned, there is no written rule. When Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, Kamlapati Tripathi was the working president of the Congress, both represented Uttar Pradesh.”

- This story was first published in www.thepoliticalindian.com on July 4, 2014