NAGPUR, January 2: Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde appear to have succeeded in their mission to convert RSS functionaries here into the anti-Banwarilal Purohit camp.The BJP National General Secretary and his brother-in-law who is Deputy Chief Minister of the state were at Nagpur this weekend. They are said to have gathered together RSS and BJP workers of all denominations at a closed-door meeting to discuss Purohit's candidature in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Purohit is currently in his second term as a BJP MP.
Interestingly, although the meeting was supposed to be secret, the Mahajan camp has been discreetly leaking out the proceedings to newspapers.
Reporters are being told that Purohit's ticket this time is as good as gone. Apparently, this is being done to provoke Purohit into making a statement that could be used against him.
According to RSS sources, Mahajan and Munde are justified in claiming success for this visit. It seems that most leading RSS functionaries have been ``convinced''
that Purohit is not the only choice before the party this election.
The anti-Purohit argument is based on two factors. The primary reason for demanding his ouster, according to Mahajan, is to set an example before the new-comers to the BJP. Purohit, he says, has blatantly violated party discipline. The Nagpur MP has made public accusations against the BJP-Sena government in Maharashtra and raised personal allegations against Mahajan and Munde.
Mahajan argued that others might be tempted to follow Purohit in washing dirty linen in public. These days, there are hordes of Congressmen joining the BJP. They must be told that they have to shed Congress practices and stick to BJP discipline. If Purohit gets away with publicly ridiculing the party, others might get the wrong signals, is Mahajan's line.
Next comes the question of Purohit's value to the party and the possible damage if he is ignored. This was proved by the result produced recently by the BJP in the election to the state legislative council from
the Nagpur local bodies' constituency. The victory gives anti-Purohit campaigners an opportunity to highlight the fact that the BJP is on a winning streak. The corollary is that the candidate is not important any more. Anybody fielded on the BJP's symbol is certain to win.
Purohit lost the 1991 election when he first fought on a BJP ticket and had freshly resigned from the Congress on the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. Only when the BJP-Sena alliance swept the Vidarbha region in the 1996 elections did Purohit get elected.
Purohit was aware of the threat to his candidature after he rubbed Mahajan-Munde the wrong way. The Maharashtra unit of BJP recommended his suspension for anti-party activities. To counter Mahajan, Purohit sought help from the RSS lobby which is already displeased with the functioning of Munde and Mahajan. Swadeshi Jagran Manch, a Sangh Parivar outfit, had publicly issued statements against the Bhadrawati power project deal, on which issue Purohit had clashed with Mahajan.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
