Rumblings of discontent seem to get shriller in the State unit of the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP).
The grumble appeared linked, partly, to the “exclusion” of Sobha Surendran and P. Krishnadas from the BJP’s national executive.
It is also reportedly connected to the “arbitrary” nomination of five BJP district presidents; a few reckoned to be “loyalists” of the State leadership.
By some accounts, discontent is also rife within the BJP for the “failure” to hold the State leadership to account for the party’s “slide” from the peak of political and social influence in Kerala in 2016 to an embarrassing loss of ground in the 2021 Assembly elections.
A similar crisis in Congress had precipitated a redistribution of organisational responsibilities. However, the power equations in the BJP remained unaltered.
A recent indication of the shadowy revolt in the BJP was an intense and arguably indignant FB post by Ms. Sobha.
Ms. Sobha appeared to take a dig at her “detractors” in the BJP by harking back to the puranic tale of Prahlada and Hiranyakashipu.
The latter, a powerful demon king, had tormented Prahlada, a devotee of Vishnu, for refusing to worship him.
Subsequently, Narasimha, a fierce avatar of Vishnu, destroyed Hiranyakashipu. “It would do well for most to remember the lesson the tale holds,” Ms. Sobha wrote somewhat ominously.
Ms. Sobha’s is reportedly not the sole voice of dissent in the BJP. Supporters of P.K. Krishnadas, a former BJP State president, are “miffed” that the party had removed him from the national executive.
BJP former State secretary A.M. Nazeer, for long the minority face of the party in Kerala, had recently slammed current State leadership for its “embarrassing mismanagement” of election funds.
Former BJP State president C.K. Padmanabhan had raised a few eyebrows by skipping the party’s core committee meeting and supposedly praising Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
BJP State general secretary M.T. Ramesh had stressed the need for consensus recently. BJP State president K. Surendran has repeatedly denied any rift in the party and attributed the “rumours” to a few malcontents.
