BJP lifts Uma's suspension

Bharti to campaign in Bihar Assembly elections

Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Uma Bharti was taken back into the party fold after a month-long drama, when former BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu announced that party chief LK Advani had revoked her suspension.

The move was expected for some time, especially after the Bihar Assembly election dates were announced, since Bharti is a crowd-puller and an important Other Backward Class (OBC) leader.

He, however, replied in the negative when asked whether she would get back the post of general secretary, to which she was appointed only a few days before she stormed out of the party office-bearers' meeting on November 10 demanding action against "leaders without base".

Bharti had been suspended when she disrupted a office-bearers' meeting protesting against Advani publicly pulling her up as someone who was conducting a fight with other second-rung leaders in the party in full media glare.

She said those leaders too should be pulled up and dared Advani to suspend her when her request was denied.

That the announcement of her return was made by Naidu whom she accused of down playing her "tiranga yatra" in October as the party chief, and was the root cause of the entire episode was significant. It showed that the infighting among the second-rung of leaders had been banked down since it was hurting the party's image.

In fact, in a letter published by a leading magazine, Bharti had roundly abused the entire second-rung of leaders, which delayed her return, and which she denied later.

Senior leader Pyarelal Khandelwal said the decision to take back Bharti was taken because she had never gone back from her commitment to the party.

"Suspensions like this cannot be held for long in politics. Bharti showed remorse and has been asked back. She has also denied writing that complaining letter," he said.

GN Singh, Bihar party unit chief, said Bharti's return would boost the party's prospects in the Bihar Assembly elections.

"It is only Bharti who can take on Lalu Prasad. She is an important backward caste leader and shall be an asset in the polls," he said.

Sources said Bharti along with Shatrughan Sinha would be the BJP's star campaigners in Bihar. In Haryana, Sushma Swaraj will lead the campaign, since it is her home state.

With Bharti's return a chapter is sought to be closed in the BJP, and a lid put on the infighting in the second rung of leadership. Whether it will, is yet to be seen.