Thiruvananthapuram: The state leadership of the BJP has been facing brickbats from the rank and file over the mishandling of the Sandeep Varier issue, which led to the young firebrand leader leaving the party and joining Congress days ahead of polling day in Palakkad. The discontented party workers and supporters have  been lashing out at the leadership, including state president K. Surendran, for failing to keep the disgruntled Varier within the party. Social media has been buzzing with criticism aimed at the leadership for the shabby manner in which the crisis was handled.

“Each individual should be important to the organisation. When they falter, their mistakes should be corrected, and they should be kept within the fold,” posts on social media said. “You should not call one individual an ‘outcast’ after pushing them out of the party,” another message said. Most of the criticisms are aimed at state president K. Surendran, as they allege that it was his one-upmanship that led to the ouster of Sandeep Varier.

BJP's internal rift

Right from the beginning, the relationship between Surendran and Varier was not good. However, Varier maintained good terms with the state RSS leadership. It was to take advantage of this that the RSS leadership stepped in to resolve the crisis. But as Sandeep continued to attack the BJP leadership, particularly C. Krishnakumar, the candidate in Palakkad, the RSS leadership abandoned their attempt to resolve the issue. It is said that, knowing the disenchantment of the RSS leadership towards Varier’s belligerence, the state BJP leadership was planning to initiate disciplinary action, including dismissal, against him.

Upon learning of this move, Varier decided to preempt it and dealt a heavy blow to the party by joining Congress, much to the despair of many of his followers in the BJP.

BJP's delayed action backfires

Initially, the BJP leadership thought they could delay disciplinary action, as they didn’t expect Sandeep to take extreme steps like leaving the party. They believed Varier's dissidence could be ignored until after the election. Here, they made the blunder of delaying action, as Varier delivered a big blow by joining Congress just ahead of the counting day. It is believed that the procrastination on the part of the state leadership caused deep embarrassment to the party, creating a negative impression about its man-management skills.

A section of the party feels that the leadership faltered in handling the issue. It could have been resolved through amicable discussion with the dissident leader. But instead of pacifying the wounded leader, the leadership further antagonised him by trivialising the issue before the media. Now, state president K. Surendran has taken on the extra task of justifying the party’s position in order to create an impression of imperviousness just before polling day.

BJP's Kerala faction grapples with discord

While leaving the party, Sandeep Varier called on the rank and file of the BJP to raise questions against the leadership for allowing the accused in the Srinivasan murder case to secure easy bail. Now, the BJP leadership is watching with caution regarding the future moves of Sandeep Varier after the by-elections.

As of now, the three groups in the party—led by Surendran’s acolytes, supporters of former state president P.K. Krishnadas, and state vice president Sobha Surendran, who feels she is being sidelined in the party—have been squabbling within to prove their prominence. Though the war within has not yet become an open fight, the undercurrents of this struggle are affecting the party’s progress in the state. It is said that the leaders masterminding this battle for superiority are wary of the intervention of national leadership, which stops them from engaging in an open fight.