New Delhi: The collapse of its government and its failure to face a trust vote in Maharashtra led to a major embarrassment for the so-called saffron “chanakyas” on Tuesday.
Two developments went against the gameplan of the BJP’s strategists, who only a few days back tried to pull off a grand post-midnight coup: Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling and “overestimating” Ajit Pawar’s ability to swing NCP MLAs in the BJP’s favour.
The party is also paying the price for the leadership’s decision to “overrule objections” of a top Union minister close to the RSS to try force a government in the state.
A senior BJP leader close to the minister revealed that when the BJP “began hatching the great game to form a government” in Maharashtra, the Union minister had “cautioned against the move” and made it clear that “Ajit Pawar was no match for Sharad Pawar”.
Meanwhile, in New Delhi, as the BJP’s house of cards in Maharashtra began to crumble, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and working president J.P. Nadda held a meeting. As the die was cast after the Supreme Court order, the BJP top brass asked Devendra Fadnavis to quit.
Sources said after Ajit Pawar, who had taken the oath as deputy chief minister on Saturday, failed to attend an official meeting with Fadnavis on Monday, the BJP got an inkling that NCP supremo might have managed to win over his nephew.
Also, after a majority of NCP MLAs rallied around its chief, the BJP top brass realised that Ajit Pawar would not be able to get the required numbers of party MLAs to support him.
The BJP had to face flak for joining hands with Ajit Pawar, even from its own supporters, as it was the earlier Fadnavis government which had launched probes into Ajit’s alleged corruption.
