In an indication of continuing dissidence in Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari’s home state, Gopinath Munde the party’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister has criticised the appointment of Vikas Mathkari as Pune city unit chief.
This close on the heels of Lok Sabha opposition leader Sushma Swaraj saying it was not she but Arun Jaitley, Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and party leaders Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar who had decided to induct the controversial Bellary mining magnate brothers Janardhana and Karunakara Reddy into the state cabinet. Gadkari had later said that any debate on the choice of ministers in Karnataka in the media was “totally unnecessary”.
Neither Gadkari nor Munde were available for comment. A former Union minister, who did not want to be identified, told Business Standard: “It is unfortunate that BJP cannot put up a united show especially, when the Congress party is mired in several controversies. Leaders like Gadkari, Munde, Jaitley and Swaraj would have to keep the interest of the party above their self-interests. Factionalism will not help the party to remove the Congress from power.”
In April 2008, annoyed at the BJP high command’s decision to appoint Madhu Chavan as chief of the Mumbai party unit, Munde had resigned from all party posts. Chavan was from the Gadkari camp and Munde had blamed the party for not functioning in a democratic way. A majority of party legislators extended their support. Subsequently, the party high command succumbed and replaced Chavan with a low-profile party legislator, Gopal Shetty, as a compromise.
Nor could Munde hide his displeasure when Gadkari was appointed as the party’s national president. Peace was brokered after he was appointed deputy leader in the Lok Sabha. He later succeeded in getting his supporters key posts in the newly constituted state executive.