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    BS Koshiyari-Shiv Prakash's public feud dims BJP chances in Uttarakhand

    Synopsis

    The incident happened in the presence of JP Nadda, member of BJP’s central parliamentary board and also election incharge of the state.

    ET Bureau
    NEW DELHI: The deep divisions in the top echelons of Uttarakhand BJP has set off alarm bells in the central leadership. The feud, which came to the fore during the party’s state executive meeting last week, has prompted BJP leaders to downgrade their calculations on the party’s prospects in Uttarakhand, vis-à-vis Uttar Pradesh.

    A party source confided that the central leadership is alarmed over the public display of feud between potential chief minister candidate Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Shiv Prakash, in-charge of Uttarakhand BJP. The source said that Koshyari made his disgruntlement public at the state executive meeting last week. He took a dig at Shiv Prakash, an RSS pracharak loaned to the party in 2014, for his alleged iron-fisted control over the Uttarakhand BJP. “Shiv ki dharti hai, Shiv hi kalyan karenge. Shiv hi chalayenge ab,” Koshyari said sarcastically while targeting Shiv Prakash.

    That divisions run deep was clear when Prakash chose to return the fire at the meeting. “Shiv to shashwat hai.Neelkanth hai.Vish peeta hai,” a source quoting Prakash said. The incident happened in the presence of JP Nadda, member of BJP’s central parliamentary board and also election incharge of the state. This was the last state executive meeting before the assembly elections in Uttarakhand early next year.

    “Koshyari has ruined his case. The party leadership was considering him as a front-runner for the CM candidate,” said a top BJP leader, underlining how the central leadership has taken a grim view of the developments. Party leaders conceded that the public display of feud at the state executive meeting has confused the cadre.

    This does not augur well for the party smarting under a legal and political defeat at the hands of Harish Rawat-led Congress during the political crisis early this year. Party leaders, however, exuded confidence that the recent surgical strikes would swing the mood in its favour as the state boasts of a lot of serving and ex-servicemen.


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