Arjun Munda (top) & Raghubar Das: Compromise formula

Ranchi/Jamshedpur, July 18: Infighting in the state unit of the BJP is only getting intense, with faction interest getting the better of the party. The most visible result: a new chief, whose primary qualification was his “acceptability” among the warring factions more than anything else.

As the BJP gears up for the Assembly election, building construction minister Raghubar Das is set to take over as the party chief with the blessings of the two important factions — one headed by chief minister Arjun Munda and the other by former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha. A formal announcement in this regard is expected tomorrow.

Das, who is the Jamshedpur (East) MLA, was initially known for his closeness to former chief minister Babulal Marandi. But, he became close to Munda after the latter became the chief minister. Munda, reportedly, also had a “practical” reason — he wanted to clip the wings of another steel city leader, Mrigendra Pratap Singh.

Though certain statements by Das on Greater Ranchi and Tata land lease renewal at times put Munda in an awkward position, the chief minister found him a person “easy to manage”.

Das also flirted with the Sinha camp on a few occasions and even campaigned for him in Hazaribagh. Some party leaders claimed that Das was not removed during the recent cabinet pruning on Sinha’s recommendations. Apart from these two factions, the caste factor too played a role in his selection. “The BJP has failed to woo the tribal vote bank despite making two chief ministers from the community. Now, a section of the BJP leaders strongly feels that Das’ election to the state president's chair will consolidate the party’s traditional Vaishya votes,” said a former BJP legislator. Das belongs to the Vaishya community.

However, the selection of Das at the party meeting yesterday, that was attended by party national president Venkaiah Naidu, L.K. Advani and senior leaders from the state including the chief minister in New Delhi, was not all that smooth as there were other factions too that wanted their voices heard. The objection: the party should not have the chief minister as well as the state party chief from the same district. These leaders, believed to be of the Marandi and Ramtahal camps, relented only when reminded that “this was nothing new”.

“The party had nominated Abhay Kant Prasad as the state BJP chief during Marandi’s tenure as the chief minister. And both are from Dumka district,” they were told.

“The central leaders deliberated on the candidatures of Yadunath Pandey too. Das was selected and one of the main reasons was that Sinha had put his foot down on the selection of Pandey since he had allegedly indulged in anti-party activities during the Lok Sabha polls. This had cost Sinha dear,” party insiders said.