Pandey: Balancing act

Ranchi, May 13: The BJP high command today appointed former Hazaribagh MP Yadunath Pandey as the president of the faction-riddled state unit.

The move is believed to be a part of the party leadership?s strategy to end the row over Raghubar Das?s recent outbursts against a section of senior party leaders and subsequent protest against him at the BJP office yesterday.

Pandey said from Deoghar that he will reach Ranchi tomorrow and after consulting his party colleagues he will decide on the disciplinary actions that were recently initiated by his predecessor.

?It wouldn?t be wise for me to comment anything at the moment. Let me first carefully study the individual cases and discuss the issue with my other party colleagues. After that, I will be in a position to take suitable decisions. All I can assure now is that no one will be denied justice. I firmly believe in taking along all,? Pandey said.

Yesterday, a group of party workers from Jamshedpur had staged a demonstration at the state BJP headquarters demanding the immediate removal of Das from the party chief chair.

?Advani had verbally asked Das to continue in office till further orders. This made him overconfident and he started behaving like a dictator. But, Advani removed him immediately after our protests yesterday,? said a BJP worker.

Das, while refusing to comment on the charges against him, congratulated Pandey and added that the party will gain new heights under the new leadership.

He added that Pandey will facilitate better co-ordination between the party organisation and the state government.

Pandey, who also teaches Anthropology at the Ranchi University, is known as a dedicated member of the Sangh Parivar and was the state co-ordinator of the Bajrang Dal before he joined the BJP. He was closely associated with the ?Ram Janmbhoomi? movement and when Advani took out the ?Rath Yatra? in 1990, Pandey became infamous for his ?inflammatory speeches?.

At that time, Pandey represented Hazaribagh in the Lok Sabha as a BJPnominee. He has held several positions in the party organisation. Now hewas the party's state unit vice president. ?Hindutva will gain a new momentum in the BJP under Pandey's leadership.His usurp has infused a new energy especially among those cadrescommitted to champion hindutva,? commented BJP state secretary andoffice incharge Ganesh Mishra.