Rawat's exit sheds light on BJP's 'perform or perish' policy

The exit of Trivendra Singh Rawat has stirred the hornet's nest. The BJP has given a stern warning that the chief ministers will have to stick to the party's yardstick of 'performance' or 'perish'.

New Delhi:A saffron wave that encompassed the country with Modi at the helm had given a leadership reservoir for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the states. Many new faces emerged in the states slowly moving away from PM Modi-centric politics at the state level to chief minister centric politics. The party moulded leaders like Manohar Lal Khattar, Yogi Adityanath, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Jai Ram Thakur and Devendra Fadnavis from its cauldron of saffron politics. If there is a sea change in West Bengal, then one might expect a surprise pick to add to the list.

However, of all the people who sheltered themselves under the wings of Modi, Uttarakhand's Trivendra Singh Rawat has emerged as a curious case. A full-blown rebellion of his flock and an unhappy parent organisation like the RSS has done him in. Rawat's independent style of thinking and actions away from the collective leadership harped by the Sangh made him fall apart. Interestingly, two internal party reports on which the current crisis emerged has rated Rawat to be a below-average chief minister in performance.

Curiously enough, most of the BJP chief ministers have had stable reigns. Even BS Yeddyurappa of Karnataka who would have faced a full-blown rebellion after the hotly debated cabinet rejig has been breathing easy and thanked Modi and Shah for it. Then we have the case of Manohar Lal Khattar of Haryana who not only ceded BJP's majority in the Haryana assembly but is in power because of an alliance with the JJP. We have seen how Vijay Rupani of Gujarat was roped-in when Anandiben Patel was moved out of the state and comforted with a governorship. However, if these chief ministers have been shielded, then what makes Rawat susceptible to an ungraceful exit? There are a number of BJP-backed leaders who have been accommodated with constitutional posts even after their tenure or removal.

In the slugfest of BJP's Uttarakhand leadership, there is a warning to the leaders that have emerged in the last six years, perform or perish, but it seems the yardstick is not the same for everyone.

— Verghese P Abraham