In its first list that the BJP released on Thursday, it has given Lok Sabha tickets to Umesh Jadhav, A Manju and Devendrappa. All the three are ex-Congressmen. The move has induced a sense of betrayal among loyal party workers
Bengaluru: Gung-ho about its prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is giving tickets to those candidates who it feels are its best winning horses. That further means that the party has also given tickets to three candidates who defected to the party at the last minute. The three of them are ex-Congressmen Umesh Jadhav, A Manju and Devendrappa.
While Umesh Jadhav was an MLA from Kalaburagi, A Manju is a former MLA from the Congress and Devendrappa was known to be a loyal Congressman.
With this move to reward party hoppers, BJP loyalists feel betrayed. Addressing a press conference, BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa said, “I am aware of a few members who sense betrayal. It is common. I will have a meeting with them and resolve the issue.”
Joining a party and quitting the earlier calls for a lot of compromise, as the ideologies of one party can be diametrically opposite to another. Shreenath Sheshadri, a BJP spokesperson says, “The first thing that a member of another party has to do is to accept the ideologies of the BJP. That becomes the most important aspect. Because, if the joining member does not believe in it, it is useless and makes no sense.”
But what do political analysts have to say?
“This move was expected. Congress was trying its best to scuttle the move by complaining to the Speaker. If the Speaker rules in favour of the Congress, they can’t contest for the next five years. Having said that, such defections are not new. BJP national president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will look at winnability as the sole criterion. This phenomenon of shifting loyalties is common. It has been there for years together. Parties are certainly aware of it,” says Harish Ramaswamy, a political analyst.
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