The rift between the BJP leadership and party deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gopinath Munde, further widened today after both camps took aggressive postures. According to news reports, Munde has expressed his wish to join the Congress party to protest against his neglect in the functioning of the Maharashtra unit of the BJP
The BJP core committee comprising LK Advani, party president Nitin Gadkari, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, former president Venkaiah Naidu and party MP Anant Kumar decided not to hold further talks with Munde unless the latter clarified his future course of action.
Munde and his supporters lambasted his rivals within the party for running a campaign against him and said the decision whether or not to leave the party would be taken collectively. Munde said he was still with the BJP but was silent on his overtures to the Congress party. News reports said the central leadership had turned down Munde’s proposal to appoint him leader of the opposition in the state assembly, replacing incumbent Eknath Khadse, and to allow him to take decisions relating to the party for the next three years, till the next assembly elections are slated. Munde also demanded that he should be pitched as the chief ministerial candidate if the BJP-Shiv Sena and Republican Party of India assume power in the 2014 assembly elections.
Munde, however, rubbished the reports and said the news were being spread by his party rivals.
A senior party leader, who did not want to be identified, told Business Standard: “The central leadership has simply turned down Munde’s proposals. Instead, they decided that the party will not further yield to his pressure tactics. Let him first clear whether he is joining the Congress party or not. The party leadership was disappointed as Munde was not reachable for the whole of Monday, despite repeated attempts made by the offices of LK Advani, Venkaiah Naidu and Anant Kumar.”
The BJP leader said the core committee had asked Khadse to convene a meeting of all party legislators and parliamentarians today to brief them about Munde’s position.
However, the party leadership took a firm decision not to invite Munde. The meeting soon turned stormy, with Munde supporters like Sambhaji Pawar and Prakash Shendge insisting they be allowed to place their case in favour of their leader. However, Khadse rejected their demand and the meeting ended in just 15 minutes. Khadse told party legislators and parliamentarians that Munde was not joining the Congress party. He said this was a rumour.
Incidentally, the Munde camp claimed they had the support of 20 of the 46 legislators. However, it was struck down by the anti-Munde faction within the state BJP, which argued that only five legislators were with Munde and the remaining were with the party.