New Delhi: There’s a flutter in the saffron camp over repeated talk of a deputy prime minister. As the noise over the post of deputy PM grows shriller, some view it as an attempt by a section of party leaders and NDA allies to keep “Modi in check”.
This particular section feels Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj could emerge as the person for the job in the event Mr Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister. A few days ago Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal had proposed the name of Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley for deputy PM.
Though the party is banking on Mr Modi’s charisma to return to power, a section of leaders are also “aware of his dictatorial style of functioning”, a senior BJP functionary said.
Ms Swaraj has been the only top leader, besides Mr L.K. Advani, to have openly voiced dissent in various organisational matters. While other top leaders looked the other way, it was Ms Swaraj who expressed grief over the party’s move to humiliate its senior leader, Mr Jaswant Singh, by refusing him a ticket from Barmer Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan. Ms Swaraj had also used social media effectively to oppose some party decisions, including the induction into the BJP of B. Sreeramulu.
Madhya Pradesh tourism minister Surendra Patwa on Wednesday rooted for Ms Swaraj. Saying that Ms Swaraj could be the “future deputy PM”, Mr Patwa claimed his remarks reflected the feelings of BJP workers in Vidisha, which had once elected Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Ms Swaraj has been seeking votes without any mention of Mr Modi. Reports from Madhya Pradesh indicate that in various meetings, while Ms Swaraj praised chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, she did not mention Mr Modi.
Sources revealed that leaders like Mr L.K. Advani, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Shahnawaz Hussain, and even powerful chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, among others, could tilt towards her in the event of a turf war within the organisation. It is felt that if the BJP fails to cross 160 seats in the Lok Sabha, Ms Swaraj could also emerge as a rallying point for former allies like the JD(U) and BJD.
