BJP Hit By Insider Jobs and Leaks, Especially in Maharashtra

Last week, some news channels aired a secretly-shot and then leaked video of Raj Purohit, a state legislator from the BJP in Maharashtra, who is known to be a critic of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. A loyalist of the late BJP leader Gopinath Munde who was killed in a car accident last year, Purohit, a five-term MLA and the chief whip of the BJP in the legislative assembly, lashed out not just at the Chief Minister but also on the Modi-Shah duo who had handpicked Fadnavis for the top job. In a scathing criticism of the Maharashtra government, Purohit was heard saying "There is no collective leadership in the party. Only two people take decisions and others only implement it. Collective leadership is a farce...."

"Injustice is being done to me. I am the senior-most leader in the BJP after Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse," he went on to say. "I should have been a minister but have been asked to wait," was one of his many complaints.

Was it mere coincidence that the video was leaked in the midst of building corruption allegations against BJP leaders and ministers Pankaja Munde and Vinod Tawde, both of whom had expressed their desire to be the Chief Minister of the state before Fadnavis was selected? There is talk within the BJP that another minister, Prakash Mehta, who is not on the most cordial terms with the Chief Minister, could be next in the line of fire with some sort of ignominy.

Sources close to Pankaja Munde, who has just returned from the US, claim the report of the corruption in her ministry was placed to trim her importance since she is seen as a threat to Fadnavis' popularity. In Delhi last week, BJP chief Amit Shah had a closed-door meeting with parliamentarians from Maharashtra where they reportedly discussed the surging divide within the party in the state.

It is no secret that Gopinath Munde, wildly popular in Maharashtra, was not on the best of terms with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah before he died last year, and that he had made it clear that he wanted his daughter Pankaja to take over the reins of the party in Maharashtra. After his death, Pankaja Munde had spoken to RSS leaders in Nagpur about the popularity she enjoys in Maharashtra as a powerful OBC leader. However, Devendra Fadnavis, a favourite of the RSS, was handpicked by Amit Shah to head the state government.  

Last week, Pankaja Munde found herself squatting in the 'chikki' scam where she has been accused of clearing purchases worth Rs 206 crore on 13 February through 24 government orders. A host of items including snacks, mats, dishes, water filters, medicines and books for tribal schools were purchased by the Women and Child Development Ministry, headed by her.

Next up, Vinod Tawde, seen as the second most popular leader in Maharashtra after Gopinath Munde, and a man reportedly upset with the party high command for superseding him with Devendra Fadnavis, found himself fighting two scandals simultaneously.

First came reports that his college degree doesn't hold up under scrutiny. The Pune institution from which he graduated is 'autonomous' in status and not accorded recognition from any agency like the UGC, AICTE or even Maharashtra's Directorate of Technical Education (DTE). As if this was not enough, a new controversy hit this morning with reports that Tawde's School Education Department allegedly tried to clear a 191-crore contract to purchase fire extinguishers for about Rs 8,000 each without issuing an e-tender.

These developments in Maharashtra come bang in the middle of the Lalit Modi controversy which has engulfed Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and bruised Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. In Madhya Pradesh, another top BJP leader, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is sampling serious charges in the Vyapam Scam, which involves top officers from his government allegedly participating in a conspiracy to allow imposters take recruitment exams for those in search of government jobs. 

A senior BJP leader from Delhi said the the nature and timings of these exposes signal careful leaks from within the party. The leader said each "victim" was being exposed in the media "to save someone else" from the line of fire.

For example, the source said, the Vasundhara controversy emerged when the opposition was baying for Sushma Swaraj's blood and then the Maharashtra scams were brought to light when it looked like Vasundhara Raje was in danger of being asked to resign.

Another theory that BJP insiders offer is the fact that those who are now under attack do not enjoy a great relationship with the Modi-Shah duo. "The papers against the Maharashtra leaders have been doing the rounds for some time. They have been released now as they serve to deflect attention from the bigger story of Lalit-Gate," said a source to this reporter.

There's also the additional conspiracy theory that Pankaja Munde is being targeted by her estranged cousin, Dhananjay Munde, who is with Sharad Pawar's party, the NCP. Sources tell this journalist that  Dhananjay approached Chief Minister Fadnavis' office earlier this year with complaints about the contracts awarded by her ministry. Having the story exposed now benefits Pawar, who is named repeatedly in Lalit-Gate, said sources. 

What all sources seem to be clear on is that the leaks, meant to be carefully orchestrated, have resulted in revenge exposes from other sections of the BJP. As a result, the party stands exposed to charges of transgressions in Delhi, Rajasthan, and now Maharashtra.

As a senior leader from the BJP while talking to this journalist mocked, "You cannot place bombs at various places and expect them to explode at the time you want them to. Things misfire." 
Insider jobs may force the BJP to play defensive. Game on.  

(Rana Ayyub is an award-winning investigative journalist and political writer. She is working on a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will be published later this year.)

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