MP BJP chief elections pepped up after Kulaste entry

BHOPAL: With former Union minister of state and MP from Mandla constituency Faggan Singh Kulaste declaring his desire and candidature for post of Madhya Pradesh state BJP president before senior leaders on Wednesday, the organisational elections may no longer be as smooth as it was in December 2012. With BJP central leadership weakened with Bihar poll debacle, it was expected that chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan might have the last word in selection of state party chief.
But all that suddenly seems to have altered with BJP’s tribal face in Parliament Faggan Singh Kulaste announcing his aspiration during a meeting on Wednesday in New Delhi and at the residence of Union minister for social justice Thavar Chand Gehlot. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP national vice-president Prabhat Jha were also present along with other senior party leaders from Madhya Pradesh.
Faggan Singh Kulaste was considered for the post in August 2014 after former state BJP president Narendra Singh Tomar was elevated to a cabinet berth in the Union government. But Kulaste lost in the battle against Nandkumar Singh Chouhan, who apart from being close to the chief minister has always been anchor and compere of all major BJP public meetings since 2003.
According to sources in the BJP, one of the main reasons for the meeting at Gehlot’s residence on Wednesday was to agree on continuation of Nandkumar Singh Chouhan to lead the organisation. However, there seems to be seething resentment within the organisation and not everyone is willing to appoint yet another person nominated by chief minister Chouhan and organisational general secretary Arvind Menon.
Disgruntled state BJP leaders and former ministers of Chouhan government supporting the return of Vyapam accused Laxmikant Sharma’s to the party fold is reason enough to believe there is resentment within. On Saturday and Sunday, the state BJP will elect its 56 district presidents and election for state party president is expected in mid-January.
In December 2012, the BJP central leadership dropped national vice-president Prabhat Jha from the post of state unit president on the recommendation of chief minister Chouhan who wanted his personal friend and ally Narendra Singh Tomar to lead the organisation with assembly elections scheduled for next year. But 12, Ashoka Road has undergone a massive change since that time.
The central leadership has changed and though confronted with a volley of problems, the present system just wouldn’t give the chief minister a free hand without consensus from all state BJP leaders. This is the reason why names like national general secretary Kailash Vijayavargiya and now Faggan Singh Kulaste are doing the rounds. Chief minister Chouhan would, obviously, want his man to hold party chief’s post for smooth running of government and party unit. The state BJP president elected in January 2016 will remain in office till January 2019 and assembly elections are scheduled for November 2018. The person elected next month will hold enormous powers as along with the chief minister, he will lead the BJP into the electoral battlefield in the next assembly polls.