Following its defeat in the Ghosi assembly by-election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put a temporary halt to its strategy of inducting leaders from opposing parties. The central committee has tightened the rules of inducting new members, which now requires a thorough screening.
Previously, the BJP had initiated a campaign to strengthen its position by breaking leaders away from opposition parties each month. This started in July and August, with former ministers like Dara Singh Chauhan and many others joining the party. To manage this, a joining committee was established under the leadership of Deputy President Brij Bahadur.
However, the defeat in Ghosi, where Dara Singh Chauhan, formerly of the SP, was fielded by the BJP, led to a rethink. It’s believed that some smaller parties in Uttar Pradesh were also keen to join the BJP, but now they have been discouraged. The local BJP leaders had a list prepared of more than 250 leaders, including former legislators and MPs, from opposition parties for potential induction, but they have now been put on hold. Joining will now commence only after a green signal from the central committee.
Sources say that the BJP will now only open entries to leaders from opposition parties after establishing new joining rules. Before any leader is inducted, a ground report on them will be procured. This report will include details about the leader’s grassroots support and caste calculations. There are also plans to avoid situations where current MLAs are made to resign to contest elections. A screening committee will thoroughly vet the report and forward it to the state headquarters, which will then be sent to the central office. Joining will only occur after approval from there.
