Anger brewing within BJP against Diu, Daman administrator Patel

Surat: BJP national general secretary Saroj Pandey visited the Union territory of Daman and Diu following complaints from the party cadres and leaders against the administrator of Daman, Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DNH) Praful Patel for his non-cooperation and his alleged autocratic style of functioning.
Party sources said BJP’s national general secretary is on a three-day visit to the Union territories (UTs).
On Monday, she had visited Diu and that she arrived in Daman on Tuesday to organize a series of meetings with the party cadres and senior leaders.
Sources inside the party said the BJP leadership has received umpteen number of complaints from party workers and BJP leaders against the monopolistic approach of the present administrator Praful Patel, a former minister of state for home in Gujarat, under the then chief minister Narendra Modi.
Patel, one of the favourites of Modi, was given the portfolio of home department in 2010 after he became MLA for the first time from Himmatnagar. Patel’s appointment came after the then home minister Amit Shah resigned from the post in 2010 following his arrest in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.
Pandey held a series of meeting with the party leaders at a hotel in Daman on Tuesday and discussed the problems and issues in a closed-door meeting.
The anger among the BJP workers and leaders could spell a disaster for the party during Lok Sabha election in 2019. All the three UTs have been captured by the BJP in 2014. However, the party doesn’t want to take any chances and resolve the issues faced by the workers and leaders.
“The administrator is himself a politician and has held important portfolio during his stint in Gujarat. He should understand the problems and wishes of the party workers and leadership. He is totally non-cooperative and we are not given time for meeting. He has removed all the huts along the seashore near Devka and rendered many people jobless. This is not the way to function,” a senior BJP leader seeking anonymity said.
He added, “We have put forth all our representation before the national general secretary. We will wait for the party leadership to act fast otherwise the anger among the party workers may cost heavily in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election.” Despite repeated attempts, Patel was not available for comments.