Home Minister L K Advani on Tuesday asked the BJP unit in Chhattisgarh to concentrate on strengthening the organisation in the state where 12 of its legislators defected and joined the ruling Congress last month. Advani told this to a 26-member delegation of BJP MPs and legislators, led by minister of state for information and broadcasting Ramesh Bais, when they called on him in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.
The delegation alleged that Congress and chief minister Ajit Jogi had used money, officials and administrative machinery to cause the defections, the MLAs said after the half an hour meeting. Advani asked them to strengthen the party organisation instead of blaming anyone for the split in the legislature party, they said.
The 36-member BJP legislature party had split on December 20 with 12 of them quitting and forming a new political outfit, Chhattisgarh Vikas Party. They joined Congress the next day, taking the ruling party's strength to 62 in the 90-member state assembly. Bureau Report