When LK Advani kicked out Kushabhau Thakre from Madhya Pradesh on charge of groupism
Kushabhau Thakre |
NK SINGH
Published in India Today, 15 August 1993
The decision by L.K. Advani to "kick
start" party politics in Madhya Pradesh has begun with taking away General
Secretary Kushabhau
Thakre's charge of the state.
It has created a storm amongst the rank and file who viewed
Thakre as a father figure. Thakre's charge being handed over to Sunder Singh
Bhandari has also upset Vijaya Raje
Scindia, former chief minister Sunderlal Patwa and
party manager Kailash
Sarang as they are all part of Thakre's inner circle.
Thakre has presided over the party's affairs for more than
40 years. He was an RSS full-timer, 'loaned' to the BJP for building up the
organisation. The organisational elections two months ago demonstrated his
power.
But it was the party's dissidents who triumphed when Advani
decided to get rid of Thakre in Madhya Pradesh. For a long time, dissidents had
been complaining about Thakre's role as protector only to his chosen group. His
fall was meant to demonstrate Advani's impartiality and to end factionalism.
The dissidents have not won everything though. It's true
that Advani appointed dissident Kailash Joshi as
the national chief of the party's Kisan Morcha; and Bhandari made Dilip Singh Judeo,
another dissident leader, in charge of the Chhattisgarh region.
But the most prominent dissident, Pyarelal Khandelwal,
was sent packing to Haryana.
The biggest setback, however, is for Patwa, who has relied
on Thakre's support to weather many a political storm. It means that Patwa and
his colleagues in the dominant faction can no longer be sure of getting the
lion's share of party tickets during the next elections.
For the moment, though, everyone is waiting for the dust
from the "kick-start" to settle before they decide on their next
move.
India Today 15 August 1993
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