AARYAN SHARMA
JAMMU: BJP is not worried with the growing influence of opposition leaders especially those belonging to Congress and National Conference.
Its State leadership is more worried with growing groupism in the disciplined party.
With time running fast, the senior party leaders are now waking up to the real challenge of setting their own house in order ahead of facing Panchayat polls and forthcoming Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections in the State, respectively in 2019 and 2020.
Ever since senior party leaders have started washing their dirty linen in public over the issue of adhering to a protocol, the BJP party workers are at the receiving end. Instead of burying their inflated egos the senior party ministers are busy measuring swords to check the growing influence of their rivals in the party.
According to party insiders, the situation has taken an ugly turn to the extent that senior party leaders have even instructed their close confidantes to ignore the workers owing allegiance to a rival party leader.
Several workers have also started feeling the pinch as they have noticed slow down of pace of work in their areas of responsibility. The ongoing developmental works have also come to a halt for non cooperation of senior party ministers.
It is no political secret in the State that several senior cabinet ministers are divided in different groups and lose no opportunity to expose wrong doings of their rivals in front of top brass. Some of the ministers, who have earned the tag of constituency ministers have been issued warnings, time and again, but instead of adhering to the party discipline these ministers have been busy chalking out their own course of action ignoring diktats of the party high command.
The situation is worrisome and different party leaders are singing different tunes to suit their political career.
A section of BJP leaders are supporting the recent decision of the alliance government to withdraw cases against stone pelters while few ministers are opposed to the idea of bailing out habitual offenders at the cost of diluting the party stand.
A section of leaders have been regularly briefing the central party leadership about the poor performance of senior ministers but instead of stripping them of their portfolios, these ministers have been allowed to continue in office ignoring feedback of staunch party loyalists. On the other hand, due to poor performance of some of the senior ministers and bad reputation of some others for remaining busy in transfer- posting assignments the image of the party has dented in the eyes of the electorate in Jammu region.