Ticket denials spark Haryana BJP revolts

NEW DELHI: Rebellion by functionaries who have been denied tickets and unprecedented public criticism of the leadership have added to the tough challenge BJP was already facing in Haryana because of a decade of incumbency.

The washing of dirty organisational linen in public follows the dip in the party's fortunes since the 2019 elections when it swept the 10 Lok Sabha seats despite having been in office for five years in a state which was never its stronghold. Factors which helped the party in 2019, mainly PM Modi's popularity, failed to stop BJP from losing majority and it was forced to take the support of Dushyant Chautala's JPP to form the govt. Signs of fatigue were visible in the LS polls when the party could win only five seats. If this was not worrisome enough, the outbreak of dissidencehas aggravated matters.

Soon after BJP announced its second list of 21 candidates, several prominent leaders quit the party which included former deputy speaker Santosh Yadav, state BJP spokesperson Satyavrat Shastri and state executive committee member Shiv Kumar Mehta. In its second list, the party dropped five-time MLA from Mahendragarh Ramvilas Sharma, who will now contest as a rebel candidate.

Union minister and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh, who has been vocal against the state leadership even as his daughter Arti Singh Rao has been fielded from Ateli, came out in Sharma's support. Bhiwani-Mahendragarh MP Dharambir Singh was present with Rao when he addressed a gathering in Mahendragarh with Sharma.

BJP has dropped around one-third of MLAs and some state leaders have claimed that CM Nayab Saini had a "limited role" in selection of candidate.

Party leader Karan Dev Kamboj said the rebellion could have been prevented if Saini had a say in the allocation process. Kamboj, a former minister, had last week stepped down as the state unit's OBC Morcha chief after being denied ticket.

On Tuesday, state unit vice-president Santosh Yadav quit, saying grassroots leaders who had been loyal to the party were being neglected. Yadav, a former deputy speaker, was said to be eyeing the ticket from Ateli constituency.


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