Bhopal: At a time when the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is awaiting a new chief, party national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has started taking the Kamal Nath government head on over its alleged excesses on party workers.
The BJP state unit had completed organisational polls late last year, barring the election for the state head which is expected to take place later this month.
Even as most of the senior leaders are working hard to stake claim to the top post, Vijayvargiya has caused a flutter in the party and outside by locking horns with the Congress-led government over the anti-mafia drive in Indore, which he says is singling out those associated with the BJP. He has also been in news for his threatening “fire” remarks after officials failed to make time for him to discuss “public issues”.
He had then said that had functionaries of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) not been in town for an event, he would have set Indore ablaze.
Experts are of the opinion that Vijayvargiya’s angry outburst had a lot to do with drawing the attention of the Sangh’s top brass, including its chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Continuing with his attack on the Congress government, Vijayvargiya then openly warned bureaucrats at Neemuch against angering the senior BJP leadership and reminding them that Nath’s government wouldn’t last for an eternity.
He has also said that he won’t let the Congress dispensation function peacefully if he returns from West Bengal, where he is the party in-charge.
While addressing a public gathering at Chhindwara, the home town of Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Vijayvargiya later sought to know how Ratul Puri, an accused in the Agusta Westland chopper scam is related to Nath.
Soon after the government initiated an all-round attack on Vijayvargiya, including filing a police case, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who till now is considered the party’s face in Madhya Pradesh, extended his solidarity to the former.
“When Kailashji had stood up to Congress vendetta, the ruling party started spreading rumours against him,” Chouhan said.
Others BJP functionaries, including Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargav and former CM Uma Bharti, have also extended their unequivocal support to Vijayvargiya. In a video message released on Tuesday, Bhargav accused the Nath government of intimidating BJP leaders and threatened to launch a massive protest.
Bharti, in a series of tweets, said BJP workers would court arrest if Vijayvargiya, whom she referred to as the pride of Indore and a saviour of the poor, is subjected to any improper legal action.
The recent churning has fuelled rumours of Vijayvargiya emerging as the face of the BJP in the state, replacing Chouhan who till now was leading the frontal attack on the present dispensation.
An observer said the BJP might soon have to take a call on whether it would want the aggression and belligerence of Vijayvargiya or appoint someone milder to take the party organisation ahead.
Meanwhile, the Congress too seems to be reconsidering its strategy and senior ministers, including Dr Govind Singh, Jitu Patwari and Sajjan Singh Verma, all of whom were extremely vocal about Vijayvargiya’s misadventures even a few days back, have mellowed down in their attacks. Nath too has till now avoided a direct assault on the BJP national general secretary.
Sources say the party leadership is considering all possible consequences before taking a call on a move like arresting Vijayvargiya for his “fire” remarks and staging a rally in Indore despite prohibitory orders being in place.
Amid all this, a rally in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act is proposed to be organised in Indore on January 12 and the RSS has reportedly instructed the BJP to ensure a gathering of more than two lakh party workers. It could also turn into an opportunity for Vijayvargiya to flex his muscles and show his might in his hometown.
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