Vijayvargiya reassures Shivraj through songs, signals his chair is safe
BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has sent a message to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s camp that the latter’s chair was safe by singing along with him a famous number from the epic Bollywood movie Sholay.
Both the leaders sang the popular number of Sholay — “Ye dosti hum nahi todenge” (We will never end our friendship) — at a dinner party thrown by Mr Vijayvargiya in Bhopal on Wednesday night. Much to the amazement of senior BJP leaders, a host of state ministers and media people, gathered on the occasion.
Mr Vijayvargiya later told reporters that “Mr Chouhan is the chief minister and will remain as the chief minister”.
Interestingly, he had caused discomfort in the chief minister’s camp during his last visit to the state capital a couple of months ago by saying that “Mr Chouhan is the chief minister. But, I cannot predict what will happen in future”.
Mr Vijayvargiya, who enjoys a “sweet as well as bitter” relation with Mr Chouhan, on Wednesday afternoon dropped in houses of prominent BJP leaders here during his two-day-stay in Bhopal that ended on Thursday, causing unease in the chief minister’s camp.
His had triggered a political storm by holding closed-door meetings with dissident leaders such as state home minister Narottam Mishra and state public works development minister Gopal Bhargav during his visit to Bhopal two months ago.
The development had then threatened to create instability in the Shivraj government.
Mr Vijayvargiya and Mr Mishra had later issued a joint statement that there was no threat to Mr Chouhan’s position, thanks to the intervention by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leadership.
Both the leaders, once considered Mr Chouhan’s trouble shooters, were known to have fallen out with him now.
Mr Vijayvargiya, who was literally away from state politics for almost a year due to his preoccupation with West Bengal affairs as party in-charge of the state, has now flexed his political muscle with his visits to prominent party leaders, thereby sending a message to the state party leadership that he is a force to reckon with in state politics .
Mr Vijayvargiya also paid a “courtesy” visit to the chief minister on Wednesday to ensure that his visit to the state capital this time did not stir controversy.