Revolt brews within BJP as former MLAs challange party’s bye poll ticket distribution

Shimla, Mar 27,

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and former MLAs who lost assembly elections in 2022 seem to have initiated a revolt against the decision of the saffron Party to offer tickets to dissidents, including six former Congress MLAs.

Former BJP Minister from Lahaul Spiti district, Ram Lal Markandeya, declared in a public meeting that he would contest the assembly elections against the official BJP candidate, Ravi Thakur, who recently joined the party.

Dr. Ramlal Markanda asserted his intent to contest the by-elections under any circumstances, even hinting at potentially joining the Congress if necessary to challenge Ravi Thakur.

Dr. Markanda emphasized his zero tolerance for corruption, vowing not to let corrupt individuals advance in politics, even if it meant his own exit from the political arena. He announced his imminent resignation from the party, along with the mass resignation of the entire district executive, signaling a brewing rebellion within the saffron Party.

The BJP election selection committee announced tickets for by-elections on six assembly seats of Himachal Pradesh, including Ravi Thakur from Lahaul Spiti district. Dr. Markanda, a three-time MLA and two-time minister from Lahaul Spiti, had served as the Agriculture Minister in the previous Jairam government.

In response to the developments, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu commented that the BJP’s attempt to disrupt the Congress government had backfired, leading to revolt from its own dedicated workers. He noted that several former BJP MLAs, such as Dr. Ramlal Markanda and Rakesh Kalia, were in talks with the Congress to join the party.

Meanwhile, in Nalagarh, supporters of former MLA Lakhwinder Rana expressed anger over the entry of former MLA KL Thakur into the BJP, demonstrating their discontent in front of BJP state president Rajeev Bindal and district president Ratan Pal Singh.

Former Minister Varinder Kanwar, a staunch loyalist of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, skipped the public meeting of Jai Ram Thakur at Kutlehar assembly, citing his inability to attend. He revealed that the party’s local committee had urged the high command to reconsider the decision to allot a ticket to Congress dissident Devinder Bhuto, and he would base his support on the party’s decision.

Meanwhile, former BJP candidate Ranjeet from Sujanpur Tira announced his decision to contest the upcoming by-election against Congress dissident Rajinder Rana as an Independent candidate, as the BJP had allocated a ticket to Rana.

It appears that the BJP may encounter revolt from its own party candidates across all six assembly constituencies, as disqualified MLAs were awarded tickets, disregarding the interests of dedicated party workers by the BJP Chunav Chaiyan Samiti.