Finally, it was curtains for BJP MP Manoj Tiwari as the Delhi BJP chief. In an official letter released by BJP general secretary, it was stated that the new state head of the party in Delhi is going to be Adesh Gupta.
Adesh is a councillor from Patel Nagar and was earlier Mayor as well. This is second time when BJP has handed over the reins of state to a councillor, the first being Satish Upadhyaya.
Though the official version behind Manoj Tiwari’s exit is that his tenure has come to an end, the real story is that the after the rout in the Delhi assembly election the party had made up its mind but was just looking for the right time to announce the decision.
The new man on the job, Adesh Gupta has been associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from the beginning. Originally hailing from Gursahaiganj in Kannauj, UP, he first came to Delhi in 1994 in search of a job, but started teaching tuition as he failed to get one. After this, Gupta started the work of contractor in CPWD. Due to his involvement in the ABVP from student life, he entered Delhi politics. Adesh Gupta has also been the national office minister in the BJP’s Yuva Morcha. During the tenure of Om Prakash Kohli, who was the state president during 1999-2000, Gupta worked as an office minister.
Gupta also worked with ABVP along with BJP president J.P. Nadda. By making Manoj Tiwari Delhi BJP president, party had bet on the Purvanchal vote but that did not work. After the rout, Tiwari apologised for his mistakes but his goose was cooked. Tiwari was seen as someone who is not an organisational man and someone who completely failed to convert his connect with Purvanchali voters for the party’s benefit. The Tiwari camp, however, claims that the real reason for the party debacle was intense factionalism which had forced Home Minister Amit Shah to take reins in his hands.
Congress state president Anil Chaudhary told The Daily Guardian that the BJP is taking face-saving measures. “In the corona period, Tiwari couldn’t do anything for migrant labourers, then they changed the state president,” he said. AAP MLA and spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj wished him well.
