5 reasons Raosaheb Danve is unfit to lead Maharashtra BJP

Social media is abuzz with the speculation that Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Danve is on his way out for defending the tainted Eknath Khadse, who stepped down as revenue minister on June 4 following the charge of conflict of interest in a land purchase case. In yet another controversy, it has emerged Danve has been staying at a government bungalow allotted to a minister.

Here are five major reasons why Danve deserves to be relieved from the crucial job immediately:

1. He does not know his party workers

On June 1, when BJP president Amit Shah asked him to field a north Indian candidate in the election of the legislative council, Danve was completely clueless on who could be the right candidate. It was a moment of embarrassment for a person who is with the BJP since its foundation in 1980.

Also read: Fadnavis will miss his mentor Eknath Khadse

When someone floated the name of RN Singh, owner of a Hindi daily, what Danve did was even more embarrassing. Surprisingly, he consulted a Congress leader, Kripashankar Singh, an accused in a disproportionate assets case, on whether RN Singh could indeed be the right candidate for the state BJP.

Either Danve was unaware that both the Singhs had common business interests, or he was incapable of taking a call. Both the possibilities clearly spell out that Danve does not deserve to continue as the state president of a ruling party.

2. He is ill-informed

A day before Shah asked Khadse to tender his resignation, Danve announced that the party was backing Khadse and he would not resign. He also declared that a report submitted by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Khadse family’s land deal could be in favour of him.

These developments show Danve was misinformed and was not consulted at all on Khadse’s issue. Does a leader who is not kept in the loop by his bosses in the party deserve to head the state unit?

3. He is economical with the truth

Danve proudly proclaims that the BJP registered one crore new members in his leadership under the "give-missed-call-become-a-member" scheme. He had promised that out of any worker who joins the party, at least 200 new members will be made special executive officers to work with the state government. Not a single worker has been awarded the post yet. A party president’s lies cannot be justified.

4. Indifferent about his own government

On May 26, when the Narendra Modi government completed two years in office, the state BJP unit had organised a celebration at the party headquarters at Nariman Point in Mumbai. Majority of the second rank leaders attended the function but Danve gave it a miss. He was busy in giving interviews to the news channels when the workers needed to take guidance from him on how to project the government’s good work.

Can a person who's indifferent about his own government’s achievements continue as a state president?

5. He can be quite callous

When Mumbai BJP secretary Vivekanand Gupta raised voice against giving candidature to Pravin Darekar, an accused in the Rs 412-crore Mumbai Bank scam, the general secretary (organisation) Ravindra Bhusari ordered him to fall in line.

However, as Gupta refused to be gagged, Bhusari advised him to end his life if he was not interested in following the party line. Danve remained a mute spectator in this case. He did not try to boost a dejected Gupta’s morale. It is not a good idea to allow a leader, who does not care about his office bearers, to continue to lead them.