With the BJP central leadership still to decide whether the Delhi unit should have a chief ministerial candidate in the Assembly elections,there is utter confusion in the party rank and file. Many have started rallying behind senior leader Harsh Vardhan after word spread that he was being considered as the party choice for the top post,ahead of state unit president Vijay Goel. But others in the party are not sure whether they will have a CM candidate at all. There is no leader in Delhi who we can approach for daily guidance. We were supposed to fight the Congress,not our own partymen. The corruption plank against the Congress has ceased to be an issue,the BJP infighting is now a real concern, a senior leader conceded. BJP president Rajnath Singh on Tuesday met L K Advani and is believed to have discussed the issue. Sources in the BJP said discussions were at a final stage and that a formal decision on the CM candidate would be taken in a day or two. The morale of party workers,a party leader said,had taken a hit because of the tussle at the top. We were told that a chief ministerial candidate will not be decided until we win Delhi. But unfortunate circumstances have been created deliberately by a few to put pressure on the party brass to declare a CM candidate. Even the leaders are in a fix. With so much controversy only highlighting the infighting,any decision to name or not name a candidate is sure to hurt us, the leader said. Another leader,who is also part of the Delhi executive committee,said party workers were becoming demotivated because of the Goel-vs-Harsh Vardhan fight. With voters pointing to the infighting,our workers cannot attack the Congress like they did earlier. The workers are confused,they dont know who to turn to for leadership, the leader said. To add to their problems,the BJP had empowered Goel to deal with allies. But the SAD (Badal) has decided not to wait for the BJP list of candidates. It wants to put up candidates in 16 constituencies,including those of senior leaders Harsh Vardhan (Krishna Nagar),V K Malhotra (Greater Kailash) and Jagdish Mukhi (Janakpuri).
