BJP President Rajnath Singh was incensed by commentator Suhel Seth’s sharp attack on “joker feudals” who believe they are a law unto themselves. Since Seth was speaking on the Times Now channel in the context of Singh violating air safety regulations by travelling in a private aircraft in the dark, he assumed the remark was directed at him. The BJP president verbally ordered his party people to boycott the channel. His message failed to reach the lower rungs of the party leadership. Tony Jethmalani and Smriti Irani, among others, were seen giving their take on the Maharashtra assembly polls to the channel.

In any case, it was noticeable that the top guns of the BJP leadership were missing from all TV channels on the day of the assembly results. Senior BJP leaders have been avoiding the media for the last two months, ever since the party president warned them that they should only express their views on the party at internal forums or face disciplinary action.

Building a nexus

The BJP’s decision not to go into an alliance with either Om Prakash Chautala or Bhajan Lal in Haryana is now being questioned. There is a story making the rounds that the powerful builder lobby of Haryana played a role in formulating the party strategy. The allegation has gained currency because prominent advertisements for a real estate deal in Gurgaon, in which a businessman affiliated with the BJP reportedly has a stake, appeared during the campaign.

In the Congress camp, there are whispers of internal sabotage. Most of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s rivals, including Birender Singh, failed to get elected. Incidentally, despite Mayawati’s high hopes, the BSP put up a poor performance. The only comfort Mayawati can take is that the bill for her party campaign was footed largely by Bhajan Lal, under the mistaken impression that the BSP would ally with his party.

... contd.