Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, December 31
Products of the Jayaprakash Narayan led students’ movement, who were at the helm of affairs in Bihar BJP for four decades, are now in hibernation.
The BJP leaders who started their political career as activists of Vidyarthi Parishad in late 70s and rose to become Union Ministers, Deputy Chief Minister, Ministers in Bihar are now side-lined in Bihar; literally on the line of many seniors at the national level.
Leaders like Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sushil Kumar Modi, Nand Kishore Yadav, Prem Kumar, all products of students’ movement are feeling ill treated in the organisation. They are already out of government.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, who had been member of Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet, too was dropped from the union ministry though he had proved himself as efficient minister and spokesman of the party and government, both inside and outside the Parliament.
Ravi Shankar was considered a successful mediator between Jayalalitha and Vajpayee and established his credentials as trouble shooter.
He was elected to Lok Sabha in 2019 defeating film star-turned-Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha, who had deserted BJP following denial of renomination.
Back from Delhi, the former law, IT, Communications, Coal and Information and Broadcasting Minister is concentrating on his constituency, visiting remote areas like Bakhtiarpur, Fatuah, Begumganj and having tea with slum dwellers in the capital.
Sushil Kumar Modi who had been deputy chief minister since 2005 is not active in Patna. He prefers to meet his old party colleagues. Modi was not drafted by the party for election campaign in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh now and in adjoining West earlier.
Nand Kishore Yadav and Prem Kumar, both OBC and extremely backward caste faces of BJP too have been left in the lurch this year. They were denied accommodation in Bihar cabinet and not included in the organisation either.
Still, they reaffirm their loyalty to the Prime Minister by sharing their pictures listening to the Man Ki Baat on Sunday. Prem Kumar on Sunday shared a photo from his car and his mobile in hand showing he listened to Narendra Modi even in a running vehicle.
The party has now preferred the new entrants than committed “Sanghis”. State unit is headed by Sanjay Jaiswal who had even contested as RJD candidate against the BJP nominee in Lok Sabha elections.
