Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday made a beeline for Delhi where they propose to apprise party bigwigs of the brewing resentment against the actions of Chief Minister Mayawati.
"We want to apprise Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani about the deep resentment brewing among the party rank and file against repeated attempts by Chief Minister Mayawati to run down the BJP as well as the ideals for which it stood," said a frustrated BJP minister.
"They have started to think that we are not partners in the coalition, but simply subservient to the BSP," a former state BJP chief said.
The latest provocation was Mayawati's alleged denigration of Hindu religion and its rituals.
The meeting is considered crucial in BJP circles as it was likely to witness a demand for rethinking on the party leadership's plans of contesting the next Lok Sabha elections along with Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party.
BJP bigwigs had earlier snubbed the state leaders with a flat counter question - "Do you want Mulayam Singh Yadav instead?"
A senior BJP functionary was of the view that "if the central leadership insists on continuing the relationship with the BSP, we would be compelled to ask them to take responsibility for the outcome of such an electoral alliance."
Prominent among those in the delegation are former chief minister Rajnath Singh, former state BJP president Kalraj Mishra, state BJP chief Vinay Katiyar, Irrigation Minister Om Prakash Singh and Housing and Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon.
Rajnath Singh has in particular been the target of Mayawati's barbs while Tandon, perhaps, remains her sole supporter in the BJP.
The latter has been drawing a lot of flak from the party rank and file for turning a blind eye to Mayawati's unabated and unbridled diatribe against the BJP.
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