A decision that was long pending by the Delhi BJP unit has been finally put to bed. Controversial and at times eccentric, the Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari has been sacked. The official statement from the BJP said, “BJP President JP Nadda has appointed Adesh Kumar Gupta as the Delhi BJP chief. The appointment will come into effect immediately.”
The new state chief is a relatively unknown face but anybody who replaces Manoj Tiwari might be a sight for the sore eyes for BJP workers.
The BJP members across Delhi rejoiced the demotion of Manoj Tiwari who was becoming a liability and deadweight of late for the party. And therefore even if the decision is two years too late, it is good riddance for BJP.
Manoj Tiwari has none other to blame than himself for the sacking he deservingly got. Tiwari was infamous for the weird clown-like antics he pulled while being President of a state unit. He could never really leave the Bhojpuri industry and the Bhojpuri actor in him outside the political corridors. Tiwari tried balancing two boats at a single time and as it turns out capsized both.
The job of a political figure requires you to fit in a certain mould. A mould that the public has created where they expect a leader to be serious and committed to the cause of the welfare of people.
While he could not win the public perception battle, the Rinkiya ke papa singer never really mingled with the senior politicians of the state either as he was seen as a candidate who was airdropped from the mystical world of Bhojpuri cinema to shoulder the responsibility of taking down Arvind Kejriwal in elections.
Many political outfits have been guilty of falling prey to the tactic of airdropping a famous celebrity in the hope of garnering votes. It works in a short period of time but in the long run, the senior party members feel distanced as their contributions to the party supersede that of a newcomer.
Although Tiwari did manage to win the MCD elections but given that BJP has long been in power in MCD, it cannot be termed as an achievement.
The real test of Tiwari’s leadership skills was the 2020 Delhi assemble elections. Despite the rhetoric and the regular chest-thumping by Tiwari, BJP’s performance was rather dull as it folded in front of AAP and Kejriwal.
Kejriwal might have swayed the votes with his populist tactics but the fact that BJP could not even challenge the AAP for a respectable fight did not augur well on Tiwari’s part.
Forget the seat numbers which were itself pathetic, Manoj Tiwari despite hailing from the Purvanchal could not galvanize the Purvanchali votes. Delhi, as is repeatedly pointed out by political pundits, has a huge chunk of Purvanchali voters (migrants from eastern UP and Bihar) who are spread across the national capital.
Over the years, the Purvanchali vote has been aggressively courted by every political party in Delhi. AAP has been able to grasp the nerve of the Purvanchali votes but unfortunately, Manoj Tiwari couldn’t turn his connections into votes.
Only one Purvanchal candidate from the BJP won in the elections in February — party Vice-president Abhay Verma from Laxmi Nagar.
Had Manoj Tiwari been a sincere leader, the BJP could have easily won the Purvanchali vote. However, the man is a former Bigg Boss star, who was thrashed by Dolly Bindra while at it. The Purvanchali voter simply feels no connection with Tiwari, who has always been seen indulging in clown-like behavior for the better part of his professional career.
Tiwari lacked the charisma and the leadership skills that say a leader like Amit Shah commandeers. His illogical statements in the run-up to the elections made the matters worse. Tiwari had a knack for controversy and it did not sit well on his political resume.
A video from 2017 still routinely does the rounds of social media where Manoj Tiwari is seen admonishing a woman, who asked him to sing a couple of lines. Tiwari is seen in the video blasting her, asking her how dare she ask him to sing. “Is this the way to speak to an MP?”
The stupor of political power never really takes you far and it might have been one of the reasons why Tiwari failed as a leader. He was bashed left, right, and center for his hara-kiri behavior by opposition and BJP sympathizers alike.
Recently while the lockdown was in force, Manoj Tiwari was seen out playing cricket in flannel whites, which must have further enraged the party high-command who felt the need to wash their hands of the mess of Manoj Tiwari conundrum.
https://twitter.com/PoliticalDi/status/1267768951775399936
Adesh Kumar Gupta is a relatively unknown name. Still BJP supporters are rejoicing because literally anyone replacing Tiwari is good news.
Hope he devote more time to cricket now and represent Delhi Capitals in IPL next year.#ManojTiwari pic.twitter.com/UQ0FgupO7p
— CMA Hammad 🇮🇳 (@abeersarwar) June 2, 2020
It would not be a hyperbole to say that Manoj Tiwari was a misfit for the coveted role of BJP unit chief. Unlike a Smriti Irani who also hailed from the TV industry and changed her entire persona after jumping in the political field, Manoj Tiwari could not take the leap of faith.
He became a victim of his own flashiness and the ambition to be a cinema star amidst a political pitch which is an ironic statement as Manoj Tiwari wanted to be a cricketer growing up.