DEHRADUN: With rumblings of protest in BJP getting louder across the state after declaration of the party's first list of candidates, efforts have been initiated to placate angry leaders and party cadres.
Lok Sabha
MP from Haridwar and former CM
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank spoke with
Sheo S Jaiswal
about measures being taken to tackle the situation. Excerpts:
The dissent within the party over distribution of tickets has led to widespread revolt. This doesn’t seem to augur well for the BJP in the forthcoming polls On the contrary, it is a good omen as it shows that the party is coming back to power. That is why there is such a clamour for tickets. The discontent is mainly against the party awarding tickets to those who left Congress and joined BJP in the last few months or recently. This may not have not gone down well with certain old and committed party leaders. But they are all part of the BJP family and will understand the circumstances. The tickets have been distributed on the basis of national and state-level surveys conducted by the party. Efforts are on to pacify the dissatisfied among our leaders and workers and the matter will be sorted out soon.
BJP claims to be a cadre-based disciplined organisation with a distinct political ideology. Is this claim not belied when old Congressmen are inducted not because they have faith in the BJP ideology but because they rebelled? BJP is the largest political party in the world. So divergence of views to some extent is bound to be there. However, those who come into the party’s fold soon adapt themselves to its mould. That is because the party has a strong ideological basis which resonates with them.
Why do you think BJP has an edge over Congress in Uttarakhand? People have seen the BJP perform well under the leadership of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. There has not been a single charge of corruption against our government so far. Also, the people can compare the present Congress government in the state with the erstwhile BJP government from 2007 to 2012. Whether it is development, law and order, organisation of the Kumbh festival, or any other standard of administration, the present Congress government is no match to the earlier BJP government. Crime against women, children and Dalits has increased by 60% in the state. Economic activity was also better during our rule.
But weren't there several charges levelled against your own government regarding the Kumbh and corruption in land deals? Not at all. For the successful organisation of the Kumbh Mela in 2010, we received kudos throughout the country and across the world. In Uganda, for instance, I was honoured by the government for successfully organising the fair, which attracted the largest number of people in the world at one place on a single day. As for the other allegations, the courts have proved that they were absolutely baseless.
How many seats in the state do you believe the BJP going to win this time? And how many in Haridwar district? We will form the government in the state with a massive majority. In Haridwar district, we are confident of considerably improving our tally of five seats in 2012 polls. This is because the Muslims and Dalits voted for me in 2014 parliamentary polls and will do the same this time as well.