In a major move to bring electoral reforms, BJP seems to be targeting once again regional parties checking family ownership of most of the parties, seeking transparency and accountability in their functioning. This step would be a follow-up to demonetization move to check black money.
Party’s national general secretary P Muralidhara Rao has indicated that his party will initiative electoral reforms so that to make political parties answerable. Speaking at a meeting organised by Telangana Journalists Union in Hyderabad, he recalled that almost all the regional parties in the country, right from Srinagar to Thiruvanthapuram have been remaining as properties of single families.
Accusing that most of the political parties are not having internal-democracy, he deplored that such parties are not providing place of honest politicians. His uproar against functioning of regional parties, is hinting about party’s mind-set on how to check domination of regional parties in the national political scenario.
It may be recalled few years ago when Rahul Gandhi politely greeted BJP’s stalwart L K Advani at New Delhi airport, the former deputy prime minister shared his agony as regional parties are occupying national political scene, pushing national parties like Congress and BJP aside.
Ever since coming to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be impatient towards regional parties and failing to cultivate good rapport even with his own allies. During previous NDA regime, prime minister A B Vajapayee had succeeded in maintaining cordial relations with as many as 28 parties. But now, Modi’s relations with three major allies- Shiva Sena, Akali Dal and TDP- are not going smoothly.
With the recent move to conduct simultaneous elections to both Lok Sabha and assemblies, many suspecting prime minister is really aiming at weakening regional parties. Even the demonetization move, many opposition leaders alleging that it was weakening finances of state governments, mostly headed by regional parties.