Uma Bharti may rejoin BJP, indicates Advani

NEW DELHI - Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti may soon rejoin Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and concentrate on revival of the party in Uttar Pradesh, party veteran L.K. Advani indicated Saturday.

Writing in his blog, Advani also underlined that the BJP’s loss in 2004 Lok Sabha polls was mainly due to “overconfidence and consequent complacency”.

He accepted that the BJP’s organisational network became “loose” during the party’s six years in office and it fared poorly in Uttar Pradesh, a state which sends 80 representatives to the Lok Sabha, both in 2004 and 2009.

Advani said after taking over stewardship of the BJP, Nitin Gadkari wanted back “colleagues” who had contributed greatly to building up of the party, but parted company before his coming on the scene.

“He spoke to me and said it was desirable to bring them back. He specifically discussed with me two names - of Jaswant Singhji and the second of Umashri Bharati. I spoke to Jaswant Singhji, and he is back in the party, as active as ever,” the former home minister wrote.

Jaswant Singh in June rejoined the party nine months after he was expelled for writing a controversial book on Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

Advani further writes: “Nitinji himself talked to Umaji. Umaji spoke to me, and on my advice, agreed that she would concentrate hereafter on strengthening the party unit in Uttar Pradesh, which as I have mentioned earlier had become greatly enfeebled.”

“She said she would like to contest also from Uttar Pradesh. But she has sought some time from the Party President before plunging headlong into the fray,” he said.

Bharti was suspended from the BJP in November 2004 and served a show-cause notice following her outburst against Advani in full glare of TV cameras. However, her suspension was revoked soon and in May 2005, she became a member of the party’s national executive.

Later in the year, she was expelled from the BJP when she revolted again following appointment of Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the Madhya Pradesh chief minister.