Jyoti Pandya, the former national vice-president of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha, was last week suspended by the party minutes before she held a press conference to voice her dissent against the nomination of sitting MP Ranjan Bhatt for the third time in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Vadodara.
In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express, Pandya, who has worked for 38 years in the party in various capacities, speaks on an array of issues related to Vadodara and the BJP, while not ruling out the possibility of fighting the elections as an independent. Excerpts:
Was it an impulsive decision to quit or one that came after long distress?
The feeling came a while ago… I had started feeling bad when women in the party would come and share their stories where they had been insulted or treated harshly. The feeling of disenchantment also started growing when I would often visit Surat as election incharge for the civic body, Assembly or other polls and see the developments there.
These were the seeds in my mind… but the third term for Ranjan (Bhatt) was the trigger. The party had taken my biodata twice in one week and I was very calm and confident as 10 years (of Bhatt’s tenure) is a sufficient time to prove inefficiency… My question is, what makes you do that (field Bhatt for a third term)? If it is stree-hath (obstinacy of a woman), I can also have it.
Would you have quit if the candidate would have been someone else but you?
If not for her, and if anyone else would have been the candidate, I would not have quit. I was given Mayorship (December 2010 to mid-2013) in the normal course as I was educated, young, dynamic and was giving my complete time to the party… What makes you select someone who is not performing? There is no dearth of leaders in Vadodara. New faces are required to continue the party… If you keep repeating the same people, the younger generation will think, ‘What are we doing here in the party.’
The party makes even the lowest rung of party workers work hard 24×7. They have to attend the party phone call, setting aside everything. If you do not do it, you are out! I am ageing now… I want to be somewhere.
Whom did you first call in the party to inform about your decision?
I spoke to (CR) Paatil saheb and (BJP state general secretary) Ratnakarji. Both answered my calls… Paatil sent Vijay Shah (Vadodara city President) and Balu Shukla (MLA Raopura and BJP Chief Whip in the Assembly) to speak to me, but I knew they were there for formality and they did not really want me to stay back… Paatil is mature but he works to achieve what has been asked of him.
Why did you say that BJP leaders are scared to speak out?
Everyone is being insulted so badly that they are scared to speak. You have to fall in line or get suspended. The ideology of the party has been compromised with the defections that are bringing in new people.
Today, the BJP has become like a big dinosaur that does not know its tail is being crushed… The message will take time to travel to the brain through the nervous system in this huge body.
The BJP I started with was a conviction and ideology-based party that respected commitment. Today, you cannot be sure if the commitment will be valued and if the people who have joined in now will show commitment.
You spoke about lack of development in Vadodara during the two-terms under Ranjan Bhatt. What did you mean?
I was always keen on infrastructure development — drinking water and drainage lines mix often. There is a lack of coordination within VMC (Vadodara Municipal Corporation) departments — they lay a pipeline network right after constructing and repairing a road. We need an international airport in Vadodara, which has not happened. We have Anand district in close proximity that has lakhs of international travellers, who have to travel all the way to Ahmedabad although Vadodara is closer. Why have we lacked the vision to expedite the international airport and get more travellers from Vadodara? Vadodara lost AIIMS and then we say that SSG hospital is overloaded due to patients from MP and Rajasthan… So why did we not get AIIMS? The Central government is set to give everything but the leaders of the city should have the vision to ask.
BJP’s city unit is often accused of interfering in the VMC work. Does it hamper the work?
It is true that they interfere a lot… If it is required, then you do it; but if each party office-bearer starts giving instructions, how will they (VMC officers) follow everything? Even in our house, the domestic help is not instructed by every member. There is a lack of literacy among leaders but maturity can help a lot. But leaders lack vision and selflessness. They are only working for vested interests and power. There is no collective thinking.
The communication gap between the administrative officers and the elected leaders is a problem.
The BJP has been the ruling party in the state for the last three decades but it is the collective will of genuine local leaders (that brings development). I have been talking for the last two days and so these issues have come out for public discussion. I knew if I speak, I will get suspended and finished. But I want to come up with the truth so that the leadership hears it.
Isn’t it true that Vadodara and Central Gujarat lack representation in the state government that also affects development?
CR Paatil was in Vadodara (for the inauguration of the Vadodara district party office) and said it would be good if the local leaders should pay heed to demands for development but within seven hours, he burdened the heads of the unit with the same inefficient candidate who has not been able to show any significant work in her decade-long tenure and needs to be discarded. They think of Vadodara leaders as gajar-mooli (insignificant like carrots and radishes)… Everytime Paatil comes to Vadodara, he makes instigating statements and leaves party factions in antagonism.
What genuine leadership are you referring to?
What is the meaning of genuine leadership? It means perceiving the problems and giving the right solution. For that you need teamwork, communication and skills to understand the organisation and aspiration of people. This genuine leadership is lacking somewhere. We know that IAS officers are declining postings in Vadodara.
The officers are qualified and skilled but they can only work with someone who understands the scope as well as limitations of the system. At the same time, you have to work with a time limit. Only genuine leaders will know this.
What makes Vadodara vote for the BJP in polls despite lacking development?
There are many pseudo leaders and people are looking for genuine leadership. If they get it, they will vote for someone else. People trust only (Narendra) Modiji because he is a genuine leader and he made a promise to Vadodara when he chose to hold Varanasi as his constituency but he is sending such a person to Vadodara who has failed… People vote for Modiji because he keeps coming here to assure them that he is there.
Will you contest the polls as an independent?
There are chances, but at this moment, I cannot commit to anything. But the situation is changing every minute and many people are contacting me… It is a scary picture as without a party’s backing, how will I do (contest the polls)? But I have a desire and if I get a good network, I might contest. If the people of Vadodara tell me to do something, I will do it. Right now, I have 70 per cent of my mind to work hard and make it happen.
