Changes in Friends of Bharatiya Janata Party in the United States (OFBJP-US)

Hindustan Times
Minneapolis, June 20, 2005

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5967_1405226,001600060016.htm

Patel replaces Vemuri as OFBJP-US
Lalit K Jha


The Overseas Friends of Bharatiya Janata Party in the
United States (OFBJP-US) has changed its leadership
mid-term. Still nearly two and half years left to his
second three-year term as OFBJP-US president,
Subrahmanyam Vemuri from Illinois was replaced by
Chandra Kant Patel, known party hardliner and
considered close to Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS),
at the annual national executive committee meeting
held at Chicago over the weekend (June 18-19).

Vemuri was elected as the OFBJP-US president for the
first time in 2002 and was reelected in November 2004
for his second three-year term till December 2007.

Even as Vemuri told this correspondent that he
resigned because he "felt" he had accomplished
whatever he had targeted for himself, it is understood
that he put in papers as a result of some strong
resentment brewing against him and the "impression"
gaining ground among the OFBJP-US members and some of
its leaders that there was immediate need for the
party to be more effective in the United States.

"Patel is dynamic and very resourceful. He loves
traveling. He has expressed his desire to tour the
entire nation (U.S.) to open more chapters and bring
in more and more people to the OFBJP fold," Dinesh
Agrawal, the former president, said.

At present the OFBJP-US has ten chapters in the United
States, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Washington,
Atlanta and Tampa, many of which are considered to be
weak. During his tenure, Vemuri opened five chapters.

In his first media reaction, Patel said that his first
step would be to constitute strong organisational
machinery, which is vibrant and dynamic and help in
rejuvenating the OFBJP-U.S.

"I would carry forward, from where Vimuri left," said
Patel, who was the OFBJP-U.S. vice president under
Vimuri. The new team is expected to be constituted
within the next one month.

"My main goal would be to initiate steps to glorify
BJP in the United States and to work towards those
measures to bring the party back to power in India,"
he said.

BLUE PRINT FOR BJP'S REVIVAL IN INDIA

Even though, one wonders, how much their views would
be heard back home by the top BJP leadership, the
OFBJP-U.S. at its meeting held marathon sessions over
the weekend to prepare a blue print for the party's
revival and the road map for it coming back to power
in India.

As the new president, Patel would be taking these
recommendations and resolutions of the OFBJP-U.S.
national executive to the central party leadership
during his trip to India in July.

"Going back to our distinct ideological roots and
fundamental values, which we had to leave aside during
the rule of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) due
to coalition dharma, should be the focal point of the
BJP now," Agrawal observed in his power point
presentation at the meeting.

Expressing concern over the various contradictory
statements coming from senior leaders of the Sangh
Parivaar ˆ BJP, VHP and RSS --, the national executive
is believed to have urged the leaders in India to
adopt a more coordinated approach as their current
behaviour was only resulting in "confusing" the common
party worker.

Another power point presentation, analyzed in detail
the performance of the BJP in the Opposition in the
past one year, while the third one dealt in detail the
causes of BJP's defeat in the 2004 elections.

"We did a critical appraisal of all these issues for
each State and the nation as a whole also," Vimuri
observed.

© HT Media Ltd. 2004.