Deadlock within BJP stalls Modi’s UP run as LS polls get closer

The BJP's confident election campaign, driven largely by Narendra Modi's signature firebrand speeches, has hit an unexpected wall. The party has been unable to find their Prime Ministerial candidate a constituency from where he can contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi. PTI

IBNLive reported that senior leader Dr Murli Manohar Joshi has refused to vacate his Varanasi seat for the Gujarat chief minister. Joshi had campaigned in Varanasi in an attempt to turn the tide in his favour to retain a seat he has held for a long time.

Earlier, the BJP leaders had suggested that Joshi run from Kanpur. However Kalraj Mishra, the incumbent from the constituency refused to vacate the seat for the veteran BJP leader, according to IBNLive:

Dr Joshi because of his stature as a senior BJP leader, as a veteran BJP leader, also someone himself is an upper caste brahmin, is someone who is also fond of his Hindutvavadi image is unwiling to give up the seat unless there is a specific commitment which is given to him by the BJP

However, he may have resigned himself to Modi running from the temple town. Joshi recently told party president Rajnath Singh that he would vacate the seat only if the party came up with an alternative acceptable to him, Times of India reported.

The BJP encountered a similar problem with Lucknow where Lalji Tandon said he would vacate his seat, but only for Modi. Tandon's expressed his wishes even though Singh had expressed interest in running from Lucknow.

Recently, reports emerged that senior leader Sushma Swaraj also expressed her dissatisfaction with the way seat distribution was being approached. At a recent party meeting, Swaraj allegedly objected to the party's dodgy alliances and later skipped 'chai pe charcha' to hash it out with Singh over the Varanasi seat. However, senior BJP leaders, including Swaraj have denied there has been any infighting over seats at all.

Infighting so close to the elections is very likely to play against Modi who campaigned in the state extensively with the desire to recreate BJP's performance in the 1998 polls. While close aides like Amit Shah believe that Modi should accept the party worker's demands and contest from Varanasi, if the existing deadlock continues then so will the suspense over Modi's seat.