Amid rumblings over ticket distribution, BJP J&K vice-president hints at fighting as independent
BJP faces dissent in Jammu and Kashmir as leaders hint at independent runs over ticket distribution issues, raising concerns ahead of upcoming polls.
The open revolt in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Jammu and Kashmir unit over distribution of party tickets continue to give top leadership jitters as two key leaders from Udhampur district — local unit vice-president Pawan Khajuria and DDC member from Ramnagar Mool Raj have dropped hints at contesting polls as Independents.
Post delimitation exercise, Udhampur district has four assembly constituencies, viz, Udhampur East, Udhampur West, Ramnagar and Chenani.
The BJP on Sunday issued its sixth list of 10 candidates, five each from Jammu and Kashmir divisions, bringing its total tally to 59. There are 90 seats in the House but the party is contesting on only 67.
Party high command’s decision to field former legislator RS Pathania from Udhampur East has not gone down well with Khajuria and his supporters, who raised a banner of revolt and staged protests against the party in Udhampur on Sunday.
‘Party betraying people’
Khajuria, who was considered the front-runner for the party ticket from Udhampur East, addressed a large gathering at Udhampur and assured his supporters to go by their “decision”.
“I got the punishment of being a dedicated party worker for the past 35 years. My supporters have taken a collective decision and we want to tell the party high command that if it changes the decision, we would welcome it. Otherwise, I would go with the decision of my people,” he said, lamenting that the party high command has betrayed the people of Udhampur.
“I have all the trust, blessings and love of my people. We urge the high command to give the mandate to any party worker, booth worker, former sarpanch or ex-panch, we would welcome it and happily give the seat to BJP. But giving it to a man who had openly indulged in anti-party activities is not acceptable to us,” he added.
Khajuria blamed the local unit chief Ravinder Raina for getting him replaced by Pathania before asking the party high command to review its decision. He said he “will go with his supporters’ decision” on September 11, indicating the possibility of entering the fray as an independent.
Notably, Pathania had won the 2014 assembly elections from Ramnagar seat on a BJP ticket riding the Modi wave. He defeated Harsh Dev Singh of the Panthers Party.
Khajuria, meanwhile, had finished third from Udhampur seat. Pawan Gupta, an independent then, who later joined the BJP, had won the seat defeating Balwant Singh Mankotia, who was with Panthers Party then.
Meanwhile, BJP’s DDC member from Ramanagar, Mool Raj, took to social media to announce his resignation against the decision to field Sunil Bhardwaj from Ramnagar seat.
“Since BJP has given the mandate to someone else, my supporters want me to contest the elections. Therefore to fulfil the aspiration and sentiments of my people, I am resigning from the primary membership and urge my people to join me on Tuesday for filing my nomination papers,” he said.
The BJP has been rattled by dissent and open revolt over distribution of party tickets.
Loyalist Chander Mohan Sharma, BJYM district president Kanav Sharma, (Chander’s son), Samba district president Kashmira Singh and Ramban district vice president Suraj Singh Parihar have already resigned from the BJP to protest against party mandate to parachuted leaders and non-deserving candidates.
In the Vaishno Devi assembly seat, the party had to face the ire of Rohit Dubey’s supporters after his name was replaced by former MLA Baldev Raj Sharma.
The polls, the first in 10 years, will be held in three phases with the first phase of polling on September 18, followed by September 25 and October 1.
