Union minister John Barla challenges BJP’s decision to drop his LS candidature
Union minister John Barla publicly challenged the BJP’s decision to field Manoj Tigga from the former’s Lok Sabha constituency Alipurduar
Union minister of state for minority affairs and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member from Alipurduar, John Barla, has publicly challenged his party’s decision not to field him from the seat for the second time, indicating a sign of trouble for the saffron camp in north Bengal region, its strongest base in the state.
Barla is the only incumbent MP in Bengal who did not find a place among the first 20 candidates the BJP central leadership announced on March 2. The party fielded Manoj Tigga, the sitting legislator from the region’s Madarihat assembly segment, from Alipurduar.
“The candidate must be changed. Otherwise, nobody will be able to win this (Alipurduar) seat. He (Tigga) tricked me. He told everybody I have amassed assets. Do people know that he has a petrol pump, tractors and earth movers?” a visibly agitated Barla told the local media at Alipurduar on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Tigga went to Barla’s home to meet him, but the MP left shortly before Tigga’s arrival, BJP leaders said.
The two met later in the afternoon at the local BJP office and Barla flared up in front of others, BJP leaders said.
Barla faced the media while leaving the party office.
“This will not happen. Nobody will vote for this candidate. I want to see how he wins this seat,” he said.
Tigga was busy campaigning and could not be contacted.
Bengal BJPs chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said: “The party’s decision is final. Tigga is a very popular leader because he is honest and upright. The BJP central leadership fielded him because of his qualities. The leadership will deal with this situation in the right manner.”
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP bagged 18 of the state’s 42 seats. In north Bengal, it secured seven of the eight seats, making the region its strongest base in Bengal.
In the 2021 assembly polls, the BJP bagged 30 of the 54 seats in the eight north Bengal districts although the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 215 of the state’s 294 seats.
