- Sanghamitra Maurya has come out all guns blazing against BJP, her own party
- She has openly appealed to people to vote against the saffron party and in favour of her father
- It is high time BJP should start getting rid of those who are using the party for personal gains
After more than 7 years of dominating national politics, BJP does not seem to distinguish between its cadre and opportunists. Nothing explains tolerating non-committed leaders like Sanghamitra Maurya in the party.
Violence in an election rally
As the hullabaloo around UP elections, 2022 is in its final stage, BJP is getting some harsh lessons from its own members. Recently, Sanghamitra Maurya, former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member and daughter of Swami Prasad Maurya decided to attack her own party.
In the Fazilnagar assembly constituency, the campaign rallies of Swami Prasad Maurya (formerly with BJP) and BJP had a brief scuffle. When their paths crossed, the supporters of both groups started to thrash each other with whatever potent weapon was available nearby. This led to the damaging of campaign vehicles. However, Swami Prasad Maurya was not hurt in the incident.
Various FIRs and counter FIRs have been filed in the incident. Even Sanghamitra Maurya and her brother Ashok Maurya have been named in the FIRs.
Sanghamitra led infighting in BJP
However, more than the violence, it’s Sanghamitra Maurya’s stand on the issue which has baffled BJP and its supporters. She has categorically taken a stand against the party line. She suggested that it was BJP that manufactured an attack on Swami Prasad Maurya.
Attacking BJP’s electoral promises in UP, Sanghamitra said, “The BJP that talks of peace and a riot-free state, today its candidate has attacked our father.” She went ahead and took an openly rebellious stand against her own party. Asking people to oppose the saffron party, she said, “Today I openly come here and say that the people of Fazilnagar will teach a lesson to such rioters on March 3. By making Swami Prasad Maurya victorious with a huge majority of votes, the rioters will be locked in their house.” She also accused party supporters of attacking her.
Read more: “Bicchu kahin bhi hoga, to dasega” – Yogi’s no-holds-barred attack on Samajwadi zealots
Meanwhile, Surendra Kushwaha, a BJP candidate has denied any charges levelled by Sanghamitra. Asserting that Fazilnagar is a peaceful state, he said, “Sanghamitra Maurya is a BJP MP, BJP made her an MP, she is roaming around with sticks. Fazilnagar assembly is a peace loving assembly. The people here will definitely punish the atmosphere that has been created.”
Sanghamitra is not a reliable member of the BJP
This is not the first time Sanghamitra Maurya has gone against the party lines. Recently, when her father Swami Prasad Maurya left the saffron party ahead of the elections, she extended her support to him. She said that she would not campaign in elections against her political rival, who is her father. She is also accused of secretly campaigning for her father.
Sanghamitra is one of those leaders who flocked to the saffron party in the wake of the Modi wave after 2014. Before becoming MP from Badaun on BJP’s ticket in 2019, she had contested the 2014 general elections as a BSP candidate against Mulayam Singh Yadav, only to lose. It can be argued that she changed ship midway after witnessing that her own ship (BSP) was getting submerged.
BJP needs to get rid of ‘rebels’
Sanghamitra Maurya is not the only one who is not fully dedicated to BJP. The party is full of such leaders who entered into the party just for the sake of gaining power. 2021 Bengal election was the zenith of this phenomenon in which most of the leaders turned towards BJP after witnessing a huge upswing in favour of the saffron party. However, as soon as BJP came second, they abandoned the party and went back to their original hut.
Read more: Now BJP is imploding in West Bengal. What a tragedy!
Internal differences are fundamental principles to abide by, but this kind of publicly open stance against the party hurt the morale of committed cadres of BJP. If the party has to continue its dominance, it should start getting rid of them.