Some MPs met Amit Shah and demanded that Varun Gandhi be added in UP's list of star campaigners

A week ago, a group of five MPs met BJP chief Amit Shah and demanded that his bete-noire Varun Gandhi be added in Uttar Pradesh to the released list of "star pracharaks" (campaigners) because his exclusion was sending a terrible message in a closely fought battle.These MPs included Rajesh Diwakar from Hathras who spoke to this writer and said, "I was given a ticket by Bhaiyyaji and promoted in 2014 and even 2009. He is my leader and I have a family relationship with him. Bhaiyya's exclusion and insults have not gone down well in my chetra (area). People ask me constantly who is the BJP's Chief Ministerial face, and about note bandi. We (the group of MPs) were told by Amit Shah that "Today, ten of you have come, tomorrow, what if 50 of you come? The BJP will not tolerate this "dabav ki rajneeti "(politics of pressure).Diwakar says that he was upset as he and his group were "not applying any pressure but just asking for justice to be done."The other MPs, all from UP, included Dharmendra Kashyap (Aonla), Ajay Mishra (Lakhimpur Kheri), Savitribai Phule (Bahraich) and Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma (Jalaun).MPs who were present at the meeting with Shah said he irately stated that he could not control Gandhi and rebuffed the MPs, telling them to go and work for the BJP.This has the potential of turning into the starting point of a large revolt against Shah as 45 candidates, perceived as close to Gandhi and denied tickets in being "punished for their closeness to him", have decided to run as independent candidates against the BJP. They have all earlier been BJP legislators. The day after the meeting with Shah, Gandhi's name was included as the 39th on a second list of 40 star campaigners. However, he is learnt to have told the party that he would not campaign. When contacted by this writer, Gandhi refused to comment.Across UP, those close to 36-year-old Gandhi in the BJP and denied a ticket are contesting the elections as a "subaltern force" for "Bhaiyyaji''. Of these 45 candidates, I spoke to a cross-section who said that they wanted to "avenge the repeated insults" meted out by the BJP under Shah and Modi to Gandhi.Says Swami Pravaktanand, who is contesting as an independent candidate from Barkhera in Pilibhit (the constituency of Varun Gandhi's mother, Maneka Gandhi), "For me, the BJP was Varun Gandhi, and I am contesting to avenge his honour. Bhaiyyaji has been betrayed, and while he may be holding his peace, we cannot do so. He should have been the Chief Ministerial face." He went on to say, "When I win, I will surrender my victory to Bhaiyyaji."Chandra Bhadra Singh and his brother Indra Pal Singh who were with the BJP, refused tickets and are now contesting as independents, said "Amit Shah is scared of Bhaiyyaji. Why else would they mistreat him like this? The BJP will suffer in UP because of this."The rebels say they spoke to Shah numerous times before deciding to contest as independents. Indra Pal Singh said, "Shah said he cannot manage Gandhi. Is Gandhi some sort of animal that has to be tamed?"Remember that Shah is already contending with the revolt of Yogi Adityanath, whose youth outfit, Hindu Yuva Vahini, is also putting up its own candidates against the BJP to protest against its founder not being named the Chief Ministerial candidate. Adityanath has disowned the revolt on record and is campaigning for the party in a helicopter reserved just for him.Gandhi, however, has refused to follow suit; those who back him say his image is that of somebody who is "resolute yet silent in public."Gandhi created a huge amount of goodwill with his initiative of getting local, rich people to pay off nearly 19 crores of debt of 4,000 poor farmers in around 30 districts of UP. These included a lot of Muslim and Dalit farmers.This succeeded in helping Gandhi reinventing his image as a "doer" from a die-hard Hindutva person who was filmed making speeches that were anti-Muslim (he said the speeches had been doctored). His campaign to build houses for the poorest families has also earned him a lot of goodwill. After these campaigns, he was allegedly told by the BJP to confine himself only to his constituency.So what do the new developments mean for the BJP?Shah is already dealing with anger among workers who are upset with tickets being given to defectors from other parties who have joined the BJP.While Gandhi is yet to make a public statement on either the candidates, or his problems with Modi and Shah, it does seem to be the end of the road for him in the BJP. Gandhi has never commented publicly on how Shah has cut him to size, but the very fact that five UP MPs went to Shah to lobby for him indicates the sort of support he commands. Something that could give both Modi and Shah sleepless nights.

(Swati Chaturvedi is an author and a journalist who has worked with The Indian Express, The Statesman and The Hindustan Times.)