By IANS,
New Delhi : The return of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seen as an attempt by the party to expand its shrinking support in Uttar Pradesh.
Her homecoming, nearly six years after she was ousted for defying the leadership, comes when the party is looking for a charismatic face to lead it in next year’s elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Belonging to the Lodh community which has a sizeable presence in parts of western Uttar Pradesh, the 52-year-old Uma Bharti has been a vote catcher.
The announcement of her return was made Tuesday by BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who has been a strong advocate of readmitting Uma Bharti although some party leaders remain opposed to her.
In a state that was once its bastion, the BJP finished a miserly fourth in the 2009 Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh.
BJP leaders have said their prospects of winning the 2014 Lok Sabha battle will depend on the performance in Uttar Pradesh.
A votary of Hindutva, Uma Bharti gives the BJP a known face to take on Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) leader and Chief Minister Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh.
Uma Bharti led the BJP to victory in Madhya Pradesh in 2003 but had to step down the next year.
BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh are likely to resist any attempts by Uma Bharti to influence politics in the state.
Even in Uttar Pradesh, not everyone in the party is for her.
BJP sources said the party would hope for consolidation of upper caste and non-Yadav backward caste votes in its favour in Uttar Pradesh.
Uma Bharti is expected to fill the void created by the departure from the BJP of Kalyan Singh, a prominent Lodh and backward caste leader in Uttar Pradesh.
Despite her charisma, Uma Bharti’s efforts to create a space outside the BJP by floating the Lok Janshakti Party proved a failure.
The saffron-clad Uma Bharti is of course happiness over her homecoming, and says she wants to “forget the last five years”.
She said her priority would be to take Uttar Pradesh from “Ram Mandir” to “Ram rajya”.
And in a message that is sure to please the Madhya Pradesh BJP, Gadkari made it clear that Uma Bharti will play a prominent role in Uttar Pradesh.