BJP president Amit Shah, who recently won the Rajya Sabha election from Gujarat, has reportedly left a section of the NDA government at the Centre peeved over his discussion of the government's performance with as many as nine central ministers. The act has not gone down well with many in the party as questions over the party chief's jurisdiction were being raised.
According to reports, Shah's talks with the ministers over the government's functioning and also laying down strategies to win future elections lined up over the next two years have not impressed ministers like Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari.
Shah's style of functioning, however, is not something new in Indian politics. During the time of the UPA government, Congress president Sonia Gandhi was perceived to be the original power centre even as Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. The same has been seen with the Left in the past as well. In West Bengal where the Left had ruled for 34 years, the party was accused of interfering in the government's functioning till the time the ailing Jyoti Basu surrendered before it.
Sources close to the BJP president, however, defended his talks with the ministers saying the ministers are also part of the party and they are accountable to the party in ensuring that the effects of its work reach the lower levels so that elections are won easily.
However, the problem with this opening of a new power centre by mixing up the party with the government doesn't reflect well on PM Modi's image for he is not seen as a weak prime minister like Singh. In a zest to prove that his party is beyond the reach of any Opposition, is Shah actually doing harm to his mentor's goodwill?
