Anna Hazare has refused to take phone calls from Kiran Bedi – his former close aide – since she joined the BJP. Anna felt hurt by Bedi’s decision to join active politics without consulting him. However, last year Anna has stood by her when she expressed her wish to join BJP. A day after Kiran Bedi openly supported Bharatiya Janata Party’s then prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Hazare said that he has no problem if Bedi contests the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In Lok Sabha election, BJP didn’t induct Bedi as they know that they can easily fight with Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party. Now, when BJP failed on many ‘Morcha’, they inducted Bedi to take on two years old Kejriwal’s strong looking AAP. Bedi and Kejriwal both are the fruits of Anna Hazare’s ‘Anti-Corruption’ movement which was also known as ‘Anna’s Andolan’. Kejriwal and Bedi are the former IAS and IPS officer respectively.
Hazare, whose India Against Corruption campaign had won extensive support from the middle classes in 2011, had not been in favour of going into mainstream politics. Both he and Bedi – one of the key members of Team Anna — had opposed Arvind Kejriwal’s move to launch the Aam Aadmi Party. After his initial opposition, Hazare, however, was reconciled to it. He gave Kejriwal his blessing and had even promised to campaign for him, but later on when Kejriwal’s popularity rised, Hazare publicly attacked him and tried to tarnish his image. Since she joined the BJP, Bedi has been repeatedly calling Hazare, but he refused to take her calls. Anyways, who cares for Anna Hazare now? They left his camp and moved forward to another journey. Meanwhile, there were reports that many senior Delhi BJP leaders are unhappy with Bedi imposition on them. Bedi might be BJP’s face in this election.
After meeting the BJP municipal councillors, they would be chief minister of Delhi invited the MPs on a tea party at her home on Sunday. In her meeting with the councillors, Bedi have lectured them for failing to keep the city clean. Cleanliness is a municipal subject in Delhi and Bedi has expressed her unhappiness over the performance of the corporation, where the BJP is in power. Bedi met five of elected MPs from Delhi at her residence, seeking suggestions on the way forward. The former cop will now be leading the BJP’s election campaign in Delhi. Bedi will hold her first road show at Rohini in North West Delhi. Party president Amit Shah also visited the state party office to finalise the list of workers who will be doing the booth management. The state unit has also been asked to prepare its data of voter list in Delhi.
Meanwhile, expelled AAP MLA Vinod Kumar Binny also joined the BJP on Sunday. Soon after being introduced into the party, Binny took upon Kejriwal and called him opportunistic. “I had joined AAP but, at the time, I didn’t know all it was merely a drama. Kejriwal is opportunistic, who used Anna to make it to where he is today,” he said. Binny also said that AAP is responsible for emotional blackmailing and fooling the voters of Delhi. Even though whatever controversy raked, Bedi continues to gain grounds within the BJP. While, the BJP has decided not to announce its chief ministerial candidate before the election, but sources within the BJP suggest that her name may be considered in the Parliamentary board meeting. Bedi might also be made to head the campaign committee and will remain the face of the party in this election.
As new addition to BJP, senior Congress party leader and former Union Minister for Child and Women Development Krishna Tirath joined Bharatiya Janata Party. According to reports, a disgruntled Tirath had earlier sought a Congress Party ticket for one of her children to contest in the Delhi state assembly elections, but the central leadership of the party rejected the request. Following this, she has had a meeting with BJP president Amit Shah. Krishna Tirath was born on March 3, 1955 and was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. Till now, she was representing the North West Delhi constituency of Delhi as a member of the Indian National Congress (INC). She began her political career as a MLA in Delhi and was a member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly between 1984–2004. Dikshit saw her as a part of the dissident group and forced to resign from her post by dissolving her entire Cabinet. On her resignation in 2003, she became Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Assembly. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, she beat Anita Arya of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was elected to Parliament. In 2009 elections, she was again elected from North West Delhi by defeating Meera Kanwaria of the BJP.
All is fine with Bedi, Binny, Ilmi and Tirath joining BJP, but here the big question remains and that is, when BJP is boosting itself as party with a difference and saying that it is cadre base party then why it is inducting leaders from Congress, AAP and others parties. Will they make India Congress free by inducting leaders from Congress party?
