Sushma Swaraj says she's opposed to two new BJP allies

Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj took to Twitter to raise objections to two potential alliances that the BJP could be forging in the states of Karnataka and Haryana. Tweeting about the BJP’s merger with the BSR Congress in Karnataka, Swaraj said she was strongly opposed to it. BSR Congress founder B Sreeramulu, who was reportedly supported by alleged illegal mining baron Janardhana Reddy, on Wednesday announced the merger of his almost two-year-old party with the BJP. She also tweeted that she was opposed to Venod Sharma of the Congress joining the Haryana Janhit Manch, an ally of the BJP in the state of Haryana. Her clarification came in response to a report in the Indian Express which stated that she had played an important role in forging the Congress leader switching sides. [caption id=“attachment_1422065” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Swaraj has said she has opposed both alliances. PTI[/caption] “It was not an easy decision to break such a long association. But I was pained to see that the Congress failed to maintain the democratic values and transparency in its own structure,” Sharma was quoted as saying in the report. The report also claimed that Sharma was promised a union cabinet berth in the event of the NDA coming to power. Sharma, father of prime accused in the Jessica Lal murder case Manu Sharma, has business interests in the media and other business ventures. This is what Swaraj had to say on Twitter: 

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The BJP leader’s statements may prove to be embarrassing for the leaders who have engineered the two alliances. While Swaraj has taken the high moral ground on the issue, other leaders are left being accused of dealing with the political leaders accused of corruption. Karnataka BJP leader Jagadish Shettar has shrugged off the criticism saying that the decision was one taken by the state unit and Swaraj had merely expressed her personal opinion. The Haryana Janhit Manch has also not offered any reaction to the leader’s comments yet. While the alliances may not change because of Swaraj’s objections, the senior BJP leader seems to be dissociating herself from the two allies well in advance.