Why is it making BJP look like the entry of Jitin Prasada is such a big deal?
Lucknow: Congress leader Jitendra Prasada passing loyalties to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) may not be as big as it is being done by the ruling BJP. Excitement may be evident in the faces of BJPs best persons on the issue, but it has not brought that level of frustration to Congressional circles. There can be two reasons behind this. First, perhaps it was the writing on the wall for some time that a worried and disappointed Prasada, sooner or later, would pass into the BJP. Above all, the Congress leadership had left no stone unturned to ignore this third-generation party loyalist, even though he maintained the reputation of being close to Rahul Gandhi. Second, there were few precious things that Prasada had the potential to provide to BJP. To say that his departure from his parent party was a shock or a loss to Congress can only be called a hyperbolic assessment. It is interesting that the period of government was occupied with the projection of a larger-than-life profile for Prasada, who withdrew all his political force from his proximity to Rahul Gandhi. Prasadas other claim to fame was his descent as the son of a once-important Congress leader, the late Jitendra Prasada, who had shot into the national spotlight after he dared Sonia Gandhi in the congressional presidential election. The BJP Bigwigs may be busy highlighting Jitins two duties as Union minister during the Manmohan Singh regimes, but neither was there anything spectacular that could be attributed to him during this period. As if that were not enough, the BJP leadership also tried to propagate how Prasadas Brahmins background would enable the party to attract members of this very important upper caste community who were somewhat disappointed with the party for due to UP Prime Minister Yogi Adityanaths openly pro-Thakur orientation. What the ruling party seems to be ignoring is that if Prasada was really seen as a Brahmin leader, he would not have lost two elections Lok Sabha and one Vidhan Sabha so badly that he even lost his deposit. His call for Brahmin was probably limited to the geographical boundaries of his home, Shahjahanpur, and some surrounding areas. There can be no denying that Prasadas immersion from Congress in BJP has helped divert attention from the protracted stand between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath that has been debated in the media for weeks. While taking all the stories about the stalemate as a media creation, the ruling distribution was now to declare that everything was fine within the party even though it was too late during the day to do so. But the way in which the entire party leadership was busy focusing on Prasada shows a intent to divert peoples attention from the Modi-Yogi issue. Surprisingly, today Prasada is much more prominent in the news than it has been before. Even Adityanath has been extremely generous in praising Prasada. I welcome Jitin Prasad to the party and am confident his arrival will increase BJP strength at UP, Adityanath wrote on Twitter shortly after Prasada took over BJP membership in the presence of Union Railways Minister Piyush Goel in New Delhi on Wednesday . It will not be surprising if Prasada is further pampered and given a place in government to impress and influence the Brahmin community. But whether all this melodrama will eventually affect the field politics in Uttar Pradesh is anyones guess.