PUNE, January 29: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anna Joshi quit the party on Wednesday and declared his candidature as an independent to protest the saffron alliance leadership's decision to support the candidature of former Congressman Suresh Kalmadi in Pune.Joshi's decision to resign his primary membership of BJP instead of openly rebelling against the party, came as a surprise to many in local political circles. Many of his former party colleagues were still skeptical over his ``threat'' to enter the electoral fray.
BJP leaders refused to comment on his resignation saying that the party's state unit would come out with it on Thursday. A top party leader told The Indian Express that the party would try to bring Anna back till the last moment. The former BJP MP kept media persons guessing at his hurriedly called press conference this evening, as even after the resignation he maintained, ``The doors for negotiations with the BJP leadership are still open.'' Earlier, Joshi tendered his two-lineresignation addressed to the BJP's city unit president with a copy forwarded to the State unit president. His resignation was not rebellion against the party, Joshi maintained while adding, ``Every drop of my blood and every breath I take contains Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Atal Behari Vajpayee remains my leader". The BJP's manifesto will be my manifesto.''
The ultimate aim behind his decision ``taken under tremendous pressure from party cadres and Puneites' was to help Vajpayee become the prime minister. There was no denying that the immediate cause was to register his protest against what he described as ``Kalmadi culture'' sweeping the BJP-Sena in Pune.
``Paisa pheko - tamasha karo'' (throw money - stage shows) was the motto of this brand of ``unscrupulous lot'' of politicians, who believed in running political parties like companies, warned Joshi. Such tendencies in city politics need to be checked on time to avoid likely erosion of the saffron parties' political base in Pune, hecautioned.
``Having served the Jansangh, Janata Party and BJP, besides being a loyal activist of the RSS for about four decades, it pains me. So instead of blaming the party, I decided to quit,'' said Joshi, asserting that it would be he rather than Kalmadi, who would stand with conviction by Vajpayee during his hour of need after the forthcoming elections.
Meanwhile, the riddle befuddling BJP men in the city was whether there was a Congress `hand' behind the resignation. Sources close to Joshi admitted that he had opened a channel with Congress leader Sharad Pawar a few days back anticipating that the party would not entertain his demand to nominate him in Pune constituency.
Sources close to Anna said he tried to contact party president L K Advani and veteran leader Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday morning, but both leaders were not in Delhi.
Joshi, who is known to have good relations with several Congress leaders in Maharashtra, reportedly had a telephonic conversation with former chief ministerSharad Pawar. The sources revealed that Pawar assured Joshi of all assistance to ensure defeat of his one-time associate Kalmadi. In fact, Joshi is said to have taken the final decision only after consulting Pawar.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
