Is Rawat’s Removal Good for the BJP?
There was widespread resentment building against Rawat among people. The central leadership was conscious of it. It was felt by the BJP leadership that with Rawat at the helm even Modi’s magic wouldn’t be able to salvage the situation for the party in Uttarakhand. By removing Rawat, the BJP has neutralised rising popular anger.
BJP leadership in Delhi acted swiftly. When Raman Singh, former Chattisgarh Chief Minister and party vice-president was asked to go to Dehradun to make an on-spot assessment and meet the MLAs individually, Rawat was not informed. Once the decision was made, Rawat was summoned to Delhi and politely told to resign.
The BJP has taken lessons from Rajasthan and Jharkhand—two states where the leadership retained Vasundhara Raje and Raghubar Das ignoring reports of massive popular resentment against them. The party had lost both these states on account of anti-incumbency against the state leadership.
Rawat would have…
