BJP’s Jat face in Rohtak sulking over ticket

ROHTAK: The BJP is yet to cheer up its Jat face in Rohtak

Lok Sabha

seat, Dharambir Hooda, who has been sulking over the party giving the ticket from the constituency to Arvind Sharma.


Hooda had unsuccessfully contested assembly elections from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat in 2014 against former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. He got 22,101 votes and was placed third. Dharambir, who earlier used to work in the excise and taxation department, was elected the president of the prestigious Jat Education Society in 2008 due to support from Bhupinder . Later, he parted ways with the Congress leader and contested elections against him as a BJP candidate in 2014. Dharambir holds sway in Jat votes due to his being Jat body’s president. He was key to ruling BJP showing strength at all its rallies in Rohtak.

He had shown interest in being fielded from the Lok Sabha seat and had expressed his desire before the media too. After the party announced Sharma’s candidature, Dharambir stopped campaigning for the party and did not attend CM ‘s event.

His residence in Rohtak used to remain abuzz with party supporters, but now wears a dull look with a handful people seen smoking hookah. Two other Jat leaders of the party — Shamsher Kharkhara and Balraj Kundu — are also upset over the party fielding Sharma. Kharkhara unsuccessfully contested Rohtak Lok Sabha elections in 2014 against Congress’s Deepender Hooda, and got 1.5 lakh votes as an INLD candidate.