New Delhi: Three Rajasthan ministers got a dressing down from Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a Lok Sabha poll review meeting Tuesday after they were unable to give details of poll preparations in their areas, ThePrint has learnt.
Health minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar, social justice & empowerment minister Avinash Gehlot, and food & civil supplies minister Sumit Godara drew Shah’s ire at the meeting held for the review of state election and the party’s core committee in Bikaner, BJP insiders said.
The former BJP chief also reached out to the BJP workers who resented the induction of Congress leaders in the party, saying that “only those who adjust with the BJP ideology in long term will get anything”.
Shah was in Rajasthan for a day-long visit during which he also addressed party workers in Udaipur.
About 200 leaders from the Bikaner cluster were called to review progress of the Lok Sabha election preparation, BJP sources said.
Shah, they said, sought details of poll preparations from Khimsar, who said “it’s in process”. To another query on how many page and booth incharges had been made in his constituency, the Lohawat MLA was found short in his preparations for the meeting.
“When Shah asked him the reason for the delay, Khimsar said that he had arrived for the first time after he became minister. Shah then pulled up the minister, saying: ‘Today, the prime minister went to Jammu, and I came here to take a meeting with 200 party workers. We started preparation for the Lok Sabha polls, and you did not get time for preparation. You are busy because you became a minister. Is that the case?’” one of the BJP insiders said.
“Two other cabinet ministers Sumit Godara and Avinash Gehlot, who are incharges of Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar and Churu, faced the same treatment when they didn’t reply to Shah’s question about organisational preparation at their assigned seats.”
The three ministers are said to be made to stand before Shah for the next 40 minutes following which he directed them to submit their report detailing name of page incharges, booth presidents as well as members of core committee and management committee set up for Lok Sabha booths, by evening.
Next in the firing line was Bikaner city president Vijay Acharya who did not give satisfactory answers about the opening of Lok Sabha poll office and preparation of election. He, too, was asked to give a report by evening.
Later, Acharya told ThePrint that the opening was delayed due to a confusion as the state unit was not briefed properly.
“We thought our party office would be the Lok Sabha office too, but that was not the case. …that is why it was not started. Shah enquired about other organisational activities and when he found it was not fully started, he was miffed. When such a big leader is making such serious efforts, it’s our duty to match his aspirations,” he told ThePrint.
A senior BJP leader from Bikaner told ThePrint that soon after Shah left for another meeting, former BJP state chief Satish Poonia sat with the three ministers and other leaders to prepare the lists. “The lists were sent to Shah’s office in Delhi by night,” he added.
“All were stunned… We were not prepared for grilling; we did not anticipate that Shah would ask such macro questions about formation of booths and page incharge. His message was clear that when the PM is holding meetings despite his busy schedule, why incharge ministers are not starting their work..that why are they not serious,” a BJP MLA, who attended the meeting, told ThePrint.
A BJP stronghold, Rajasthan had voted for the party in all 25 LS seats in 2019. The BJP divided these seats into eight clusters last month for the poll preparation, with each headed by a senior leader.
Shah reminded BJP that Rajasthan has been with the party and that it boasts one of the strongest state organisations.
Workers should work hard to achieve hundred percent success in Lok Sabha, he said. “Rajasthan has been (former RSS functionary) Sunder Singh Bhandari’s ‘Tapobhumi’ (background) from Jan Sangh days,” Shah is said to have told them.
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‘Don’t lose hope’
Shah is further said to have encouraged the BJP workers, saying that the leadership acknowledged their work. “Only those are recognised who work for the party organisation”.
Citing his own example, Shah said that he has always won elections on the strength of workers. Therefore, he said, the workers should keep working to strengthen the organisation and make the party stronger.
Another point that came up in the meeting was party workers connecting beneficiaries of various government schemes with the BJP. He also instructed them to reach out to those who are still not connected with the BJP’s ideology and get them under the party’s fold, another BJP leader said.
The Union home minister is said to have exhorted party workers not to “lose hope” on seeing entry of leaders from other parties. Efforts should be made to induct every influential leader of any party in an area, he further said.
As several complaints came up of resentment among workers over induction of Congress leaders, Shah pacified them saying that not all would be getting everything overnight.
“You are thinking that all leaders from other parties are coming to BJP, then what you will get. Only those who adjust in BJP ideology in long term will get anything,” he reassured them.
Shah then quipped that many of the workers present there were with the party for the last 25-30 years but yet to get anything substantial. “He then remarked: ‘Then what will outsiders get when they join us’,” said a second BJP leader who attended the meeting, adding that everyone burst into a peal of laughter.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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