BJP optimistic

Interview with O.P. Mathur, president, BJP Rajasthan unit.

in Jaipur

O.P. MATHUR, president of the Bharatiya Janata Partys Rajasthan unit, is optimistic about the party returning to power. He thinks the message of development has gone down well with the voters. Mathur, who took over the reins of the State unit in January, is unfazed by the series of desertions by senior party leaders. In an interview to Frontline he spoke about the important issues in the December 4 elections. Excerpts:

Why do you think anti-incumbency will not be a factor in the Rajasthan elections? Several senior leaders and Ministers such as Vishwendra Singh and Kirori Lal Meena have deserted the party.

There is always a certain amount of anti-incumbency sentiment, but it is more at the local level. Normally, the resentment at the local level gets transferred or connected to the overall image of the government. People have seen the difference in the past five years. They genuinely feel that development has taken place. Our workers have been enthused in the past 11 months. It is always the workers who first feel the wave of anti-incumbency. After I took over in January this year, I ensured the constitution of many booth-level committees and gave them specific responsibilities. I attended 64 meetings, and any anti-incumbency sentiment that may have existed got diluted following the visits. We ensured that whoever wanted a hand pump got one, and any other requirement was met. We also changed 64 sitting legislators. In any case, the workers do not react according to the candidates nominated. What matters for them is the party and its symbol. Barring Kirori Lal Meena and Vishwendra Singh, no one has deserted the party.

There are reasons to believe that all is not well with the State BJP and that there is a distance between the leadership and the workers.

There were some communication lapses between the government and the people or the Chief Minister and the workers. This was before I took over as [State] BJP president. I have set the party organisation in Rajasthan right, just as I did in Gujarat. I had more time to work on the organisation in Gujarat where I was appointed for three years. I did not get much time here. We sent Vasundhara Raje to Rajasthan to lead the party in 2003. She won more than comfortably as she had the full support of the party and the leadership. The fact of her not being active in State politics did not matter then. Initially even in Chhattisgarh it was said that Raman Singh was an outsider and that he would not get acceptability. But that changed.

The tenure of the BJP saw a lot of police action. Will this not have a direct bearing on the partys performance?

Yes, it was unfortunate that people died in the course of police firing. But we have done a lot of damage control after that. In particular, the situation with Gujjars has been reassuring. We never had a proper base among Gujjars. The Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti is with us. I think we will get as much support from them as we got earlier. As for Meenas, they vote for their leaders rather than political parties.

Do you think the Congress does not have natural advantages in the coming elections?

There is much more infighting in the Congress compared with any other party. But I never underestimate the enemy. We are going to retain our hold in the tribal and Scheduled Caste constituencies, which are known to be the traditional stronghold of the Congress. We did very well in the panchayat elections. In every panchayat we have placed at least 10 to 12 people. Our grip over rural Rajasthan is still strong.