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Resentment over BJP survey on public mood

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI SEPT. 16 . The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has put into motion an exercise to carry out a survey to gauge its position in the post-Parivartan Yatra scenario as also to shortlist candidates for the coming Assembly elections. However, the exercise faces stiff opposition as strong resentment prevails over the manner in which the party has set guidelines for the survey ignoring local leaders and those engaged in party work at the grassroots.

According to party insiders, the Delhi unit president, Madan Lal Khurana, had instituted a survey for gauging the public mood and to come out with the names of candidates. A known sympathiser close to top BJP leaders, Sudhanshu Mittal, is understood to have been entrusted with the job and he has got into the exercise in right earnest.

But this is where the resentment has built up. It is believed that local leaders have protested that neither the district leaders nor the mandal heads or the party "prabahris" have been informed of the exercise. As a result, those working at the grassroots are not even in the know of the exercise, which is being termed as a façade by partymen.

Sources said that according to the guidelines, survey teams have been asked to identify and shortlist six candidates each in all the 70 Assembly constituencies. Interestingly, partymen point out that even before the survey could be conducted, the teams have been already handed over a list of candidates whose names are to be included as "favourites" during the survey so that their claim gets a push and some authenticity.

In fact, everyone in the party knows who are conducting the survey and already groups have started reaching out to the concerned people to lodge their claim for the particular seat or segment. "If this is the manner in which the survey has to be conducted, then it would be better not to have such an exercise. This will create further division within the party and lead to much bad blood and clash of interests," remarked a senior leader.

It is understood that partymen are upset that certain people within the party, who have remained aloof from official work all these years and now made a sudden appearance, are being given importance and senior leaders are being ignored. Those who seem to have drawn the ire of leaders include the party officer-bearers, Vijay Jolly, who is seeking nomination from Saket and Ashok Aggarwal, who is asking for a ticket from Model Town. A decentralisation exercise needs to be carried out and responsibilities have to be shared if the party has to fare well in the polls, they feel.

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