BJP’s double standards on nominated posts

Take for instance Uttar Pradesh, where BJP is in power, 10 persons were nominated under the Governor's quota to the Legislative Council, of which eight were members of the BJP. Even the other two were associated with the party.

Hyderabad: The BJP has two sets of rules when it comes to nomination of members to legislative councils in different States. In BJP-ruled States where Legislative Councils exist, whoever is nominated by the State cabinet under the Governor’s quota is accepted without issues. However, when the same criteria is used to nominate people under the Governor’s quota in the non-BJP States, it is challenged by the Governor and even rejected, as has happened in Telangana.

Take for instance Uttar Pradesh, where BJP is in power, 10 persons were nominated under the Governor’s quota to the Legislative Council, of which eight were members of the BJP. Even the other two were associated with the party.

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Still, the Governor cleared the files without hesitation or queries. In fact, former Congress leader Jitin Prasad, who joined BJP, was immediately nominated as MLC and inducted in Yogi Adityanath‘s cabinet.

In Karnataka, where the BJP was in power till May, of the 11 Governor quota MLC posts, eight were former ministers, MPs, MLAs or members of political parties. Of the remaining three, UB Venkatesh was a businessman, Talwar Sabanna, an Economics Professor from Rani Chennamma University and Shantaram Budna Siddi, a tribal. Both Sabanna and Siddi were supported by the RSS. In fact, Siddi worked with the RSS-affiliated Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram as a volunteer.

In Maharashtra, the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray had recommended 12 names for nomination as MLCs under Governor’s quota three years ago, but the file was never approved by former Governor BS Koshyari, himself an RSS veteran. The Eknath Shinde-led government withdrew those nominations and is preparing its own list.