BJP to adopt wait and watch policy towards disgruntled party legislators

BJP leadership adopts wait-and-watch policy on disgruntled legislators in Puducherry, maintaining stability despite opposition questioning.

The BJP leadership seems to have decided to adopt a wait and watch policy on the conduct of three of its disgruntled legislators and three Independents supporting the Saffron camp in the National Democratic Alliance government in Puducherry even after the MLAs have started pushing a separate political agenda in the Union Territory. 

Continuing with their activities outside BJP’s sphere of functioning, the party legislators, A. John Kumar, his son Richards John Kumar, P.M.L. Kalyanasundaram and independents P. Angalane and M. Sivasankar on Sunday actively participated in an event organised by Jose Charles Martin, a businessman and son of lottery king Santiago Martin, who is currently under the lens of Enforcement Directorate. The third independent, Gollapalli Srinivas Ashok, had also extended support for the event as part of providing rain relief assistance.

The six legislators had put up flex boards with their photographs alongside that of Mr. Charles, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah at the venue of the event near Lawspet helipad.  A few weeks ago, while organising a similar event the legislators had proclaimed their intention to work under Mr Charles in the next Assembly polls in Puducherry and at the event Mr John Kumar even went a step further by offering to vacate his Assembly seat for the businessman to contest the polls in the Union Territory during 2026 polls. 

BJP in- charge for UT, Nirmal Kumar Surana told The Hindu that the party has got nothing to do with the events organised by the businessman to distribute relief assistance. “These are all private events organised by individuals. When elected representatives want to source relief materials for rain affected people, the party cannot prevent them from doing and also stop someone from using the photograph of Prime Minister. But we can say, it was not an event of the party or by the party. We have got nothing to do with such events,” Mr Surana said. 

The six legislators have been toeing a different line after the BJP candidate, Home Minister A Namassivayam, lost the Lok Sabha polls from the lone Puducherry Lok Sabha seat in 2024 Parliamentary elections. After the LS poll defeat, the legislators had also made very critical remarks about Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, whose All India N R Congress is a dominant partner in NDA in UT.

Government stable

With Opposition Congress utilising the disgruntlement within the legislature wing of the ruling BJP to question the stability of NDA government in Puducherry, the BJP leadership seems to be in no hurry to “placate or act” against the party legislators for what some within BJP consider an act of defiance and rebellion.