NEW DELHI: Dissensions within the BJP came out in the open as the party faced public protests at some places over the selection of candidates, including that of former Army Chief Gen (retd) V K Singh in Ghaziabad and Kirron Kher from Chandigarh.
The BJP headquarters in the capital faced protests from supporters of some candidates who have not been given the party tickets, raising slogans against senior party leaders.
While a group of party workers lodged their protest against the candidature of former Army Chief Gen (retd) V K Singh from Ghaziabad and termed him as outsider, supporters of Pradeep Sangwan from Sonepat raised objections against party’s official candidate Ramesh Kaushik.
In fact, even before the party went public with Singh’s name from Ghaziabad, a seat represented by party chief Rajnath Singh earlier, a number of BJP workers came out on the streets of Ghaziabad to oppose his nomination. Yesterday too, he faced angry party men in Ghaziabad, who raised slogans against him and a heated exchange of words broke out between supporters of the former Army chief and his rivals.
Supporters of a candidate from Amroha also landed up outside the BJP headquarters and lodged a protest against the party leadership.
BJP Spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said such protests are a “temporary reaction” and all partymen will be “on board” and will campaign for the party’s official candidates.
The Uttar Pradesh BJP is facing a revolt within the party as its leaders are coming out openly to express their annoyance against the party’s decision to deny them tickets.
BJP workers waved black flags and threw eggs at the cavalcade of Kirron Kher when she reached Chandigarh after being nominated by BJP for the Lok Sabha seat, terming her as an “outsider”.
There has been resentment among a section of BJP workers ever since 58-year-old Kirron’s name was announced by the party on Saturday as candidate for Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.
At a couple of places, the workers also raised slogans against her. They also created ruckus at the BJP’s party office here later.
The party leaders in Muzaffarnagar and Deoria have protested on the candidates’ selection by the party. Murli Manohar Joshi’s supporters earlier protested in Varanasi while those of Lalji Tandon protested in Kanpur.
The main problem for the party is the revolt by BJP MLA Sangeet Som, who was denied ticket from Muzaffarnagar seat.
Som’s supporters took to streets on Sunday to lodge their protest and also burnt BJP president Rajnath Singh’s effigy.
Som, an accused in Muzaffarnagar riots and charged with National Security Act (NSA), was seeking to contest from Muzaffarnagar seat but the party chose Sanjiv Baliyan instead.
The state BJP unit had reportedly sought Lok Sabha tickets for four BJP MLAs, including Som, who have been booked for fuelling Muzaffarnagar riots.
Meanwhile, supporters of former state BJP president Surya Pratap Shahi staged demonstrations in Deoria for refusing ticket to the leader. BJP has given candidature to senior party leader and MLA from Lucknow Kalraj Mishra from Deoria.
Shahi’s supporters burnt an effigy of Singh and alleged that Mishra was an outsider.
A report from Lucknow said BJP workers staged a sit-in protest at the party headquarters there today demanding the party drop a reported move to nominate former Congress leader Jagdambika Pal for LS polls.
BJP workers from Domariyaganj, Pal’s Lok Sabha constituency, and its surrounding areas shouted slogans pressing that Pal, who recently quit Congress, should not be given a ticket to contest the poll.
The workers who also submitted a memorandum addressed jointly to state BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai and in charge of the state affairs, Amit Shah, recalling how Pal had engineered the fall of the BJP government of Kalyan Singh in 1998 and was later sworn in as chief minister.
BJP workers in Rae Bareli LS constituency also held a protest at the party headquarters demanding early announcement of ticket to Ajay Agarwal, who they claimed was working hard in the area and was a strong candidate against sitting MP, Congress president Sonia Gandhi. –PTI
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