Dismissal Of Mehta Govt Gives Bjp A Poll Issue In Up

Though the party expressed public outrage at the Centre's action in Gujarat, the decision is not a surprise. The BJP was expecting the Centre to resort to adventurism in Gujarat, a senior party office-bearer said. The party had prepared a plan of action in advance on how to oppose the Centre's intervention, he added.

Another senior BJP leader said in an otherwise issueless election, the dismissal of the Suresh Mehta government had provided the party with a potent issue. The murder of democracy by the Centre would turn the floating votes in Uttar Pradesh in favour of the BJP, he claimed.

The BJP leader pointed out that the internal crisis in the Gujarat unit had diverted the party's attention from the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections. Two of the general secretaries and other important functionaries had been busy for weeks keeping tabs on developments in Gujarat.

Further, the party had been forced to give explanations about the intra-party wrangles. The Centre's action had given the BJP a chance to become genuinely offensive.

The senior BJP leader discounted the possibility of the United Front gaining political mileage from the Gujarat incident in Uttar Pradesh. The consolidation of a small proportion of Muslim votes might take place in favour of the Front but that would not affect the BJP's electoral prospects, he held, since Muslim votes are in any case split between the two fronts led respectively by the SP and BSP.