Why BJP will treat Varun Gandhi the Shatrughan Sinha way

New Delhi: With Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra set to enter Uttar Pradesh and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi's likely support to it, the saffron unit is said to have decided on a Shatrughan Sinha-like fate for the junior Gandhi cousin.

Sources stated that Varun, son of Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi, may well have ruined any possibility of recovery of his future within the saffron unit by constantly targeting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

It is learnt that the party has decided to treat Varun Gandhi the same way as it treated Shatrughan Sinha during the last Lok Sabha. Sinha, despite his repeated rants against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and criticism of his government’s policies, wasn’t expelled by the party. He was, in fact, allowed to serve out his entire tenure in the lower house.

The same policy is likely to be adopted by the BJP in the case of Varun as well. This is being done so that he isn’t able to retain his membership of the House. “If an MP is expelled from the party he retains the membership of the House and can later on go and vote against the party he had earlier represented. However, if the rebel MP is not expelled, he would need to necessarily vote in line with the party’s decided line and whip in the House,” sources pointed out.

Though expulsion for indulging in anti-party activities is always an option, however, it is not fruitful and is short-term gain as the rebel MP goes on to utilize his expulsion as a victim card in front of the voters. The BJP wants to avoid this and doesn’t want Varun to score any brownie points ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, sources pointed out.  

This would also ensure that the only option left with Varun would be to quit the BJP and lose his membership of the Lok Sabha, sources added.

Party leaders point out that Shatrughan Sinha wasn’t able to use any victim card and had to ultimately join the Congress to seek a ticket for the Lok Sabha. He had to later join Trinamool Congress to secure a path to the Parliament. This BJP policy made Sinha, a veteran minister in the Vajpayee government, sweat for his pound of flesh, sources stated.

The party also feels that such leaders are commenting on BJP's top leadership out of their sense of entitlement, which would receive a further boost if any immediate action is taken against them. "It is better to end such leaders' political futures and ensure that they have to work to make any gains," sources added.

This is in line with the BJP’s tactics wherein its top leaders also face the saffron unit's ruthless ire. And the party’s top leadership has been prompt in showing such leaders their place and terminally affecting their political careers.  

This policy of immediate expulsion is seen as an attempt by the BJP’s top leadership to send a message across the party that such acts would not go unnoticed.

Another case in point is the treatment of former Governor Satya Pal Malik. Despite his repeated attacks and criticisms of the Narendra Modi government, the Centre decided not to act against him and let him end his tenure, sources pointed out.  

Everyone needs to tow the party line

The message by the top BJP leadership is clear, anyone who doesn’t tow the party line will be severely dealt with, even to the extent of being denied a ticket and making such leaders irrelevant.

A message has clearly been sent to these leaders that being the face of the BJP, they are expected to observe extreme caution while dealing with tricky issues. No indiscipline from anyone would be tolerated and the party would ultimately act for securing its own long-term future goals.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have taken stock of the fallout due to controversies created by such leaders, including Varun Gandhi, and decided on this course of action.    

Under the watch of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has emerged as an election-winning machine. And no compromise is acceptable. Hence, strict action against anyone found to be possibly hurting the electoral prospects of the party.