NEW DELHI: In addition to strengthening party’s base in the national capital, the newly appointed chief of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi Adesh Kumar Gupta will have the uphill task of ending factionalism within the party.
Former north Delhi Mayor, Gupta, a councillor from West Patel Nagar, was appointed as Delhi BJP unit president on Tuesday.
BJP general secretary Arun Singh made the announcement, which came into effect immediately.
Evidently, despite his popular image, outgoing president of the outfit Manoj Tiwari failed to bring all factions together on one platform.
Even he had several run-ins with RSS, party vice president Shyam Jaju, general secretary (organisation) Siddharthan and former union minister Vijay Goel.
Tiwari was always seen as an ‘outsider’ in the faction-ridden outfit. At present, atleast four groups in Delhi BJP being patronised by former unit presidents or member of parliaments (MPs) are active.
Senior party leaders in Delhi said Gupta, a low-profile leader, also comes from Uttar Pradesh and would have tough time to strike a balance in the ‘warring’ groups.
“He will run into trouble if he tries to unite all groups. It is not going to be easy for him to coordinate with seven MPs. He is very junior leader. The only solace for Gupta is that he has RSS backing and is supported by Jaju and Siddharthan. Some may not like it,” said a party functionary.
Speaking to The Morning Standard, Gupta said it is always a ‘challenging task’ to work as head of the party, which I will perform with honesty and dedication.
“I will bring all leaders and workers together and work efficiently. We will strengthen the organisation in the city. All leaders are already on one platform. They are important and we will work together as one unit,” he said.
Tiwari’s predecessor, Satish Upadhyay was also removed in November 2017 as he couldn’t defuse groupism, which had led to party’s poor performance in municipal bypolls.
“Gupta’s appointment has surprised many. Till recently, he was seeking ticket for assembly election, which was denied. He was not even made the president of Karol Bagh district while he was the frontrunner for the post,” said another senior Delhi BJP leader.