Arjun Munda will be sworn in as Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the third time tomorrow, giving the BJP its seventh chief minister. Ideally, the party should have been buoyant but far from celebrating the occasion, many of its leaders have decided to give the oath-taking ceremony in Ranchi a miss.
Barring former BJP president Rajnath Singh and chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad, top central leaders, including party chief Nitin Gadkari, will not attend the swearing-in. This is seen as a reflection of the sharp differences of opinion within the party about forming a government with the JMM?s ?tainted image?.
The decision to revive ties with the JMM and propose Munda?s name as the chief ministerial nominee came as a surprise to many BJP central leaders. It is said that Gadkari and his predecessor Rajnath Singh monitored the discussions after the state unit informed the party top brass about the JMM offer.
Party leaders said LK Advani was unhappy with the decision. If at all, the BJP should form the government?considering the fact that an overwhelming majority of the MLAs were pitching for it?he was said to be of the view that Yashwant Sinha was a better choice for the CM post. Many top leaders apparently shared this view. Another section in the party was totally against any tie-up with the JMM.
Questions are now being asked about how the decision to renew the ties with the JMM and how the candidature of Munda was decided without any discussion by the parliamentary board. The decision to withdraw support to the JMM?after Shibu Soren voted for the UPA in the cut-motion during the Budget session of Parliament?was taken by the top-decision making body. The decision to stall all efforts for a government formation in May after Soren played truant was taken after consulting all parliamentary board members.
Sources, however, said much should not be read into Advani not attending the swearing-in. For the record, they point out he had not attended the oath-taking ceremony when the JMM-BJP government first assumed office last year. What was surprising was that Gadkari, who played a major role in reviving the JMM-BJP ties, himself would be absent.