Rebellion in Himachal BJP Over By-election Tickets to Congress Turncoats

With the BJP fielding all the six ex-Congress MLAs who joined the party in the aftermath of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, in the upcoming assembly by-elections, leaving the local BJP leaders agitated. The rebellion has left the BJP in a tight spot.

Shimla: The BJP's decision to field all six ex-Congress MLAs from Himachal Pradesh who joined the party recently, in upcoming assembly by-elections seems to have backfired for the saffron party with many leaders showing signs of revolt against the party leadership.

The six ex-Congress MLAs--Rajendra Rana, Sudhir Sharma, ID Lakhanpal, Ravi Thakur, Devendra Bhutto and Chaitanya Sharma along with the three independents Hoshiar Singh, KL Thakur and Ashish Sharma--recently joined the BJP with the party going a step further by fielding all six leaders from their respective seats in the upcoming by-elections.

Sudhir Sharma, a four-time MLA from Dharamshala was fielded from the Lok Sabha seat, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul-Spiti, Indardatt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Devendra Kumar Bhutti from Kutlehar, and Chaitanya Sharma from Gagret for the upcoming elections.

However, the move has been met with resentment by senior BJP leaders, who feel sidelined in the respective constituencies and are up in arms against the party leadership, sources said.

Spark of Rebellion Ignited in BJP

It all started with a statement by Dr Ramlal Markanda from the cold desert assembly seat Lahaul-Spiti. After the BJP fielded turncoat Ravi Thakur from the seat, Markanda said that he would contest from the seat in clear rebellion against the party.

Likewise, Rakesh Choudhary, one of the OBC faces of BJP from Kangra district, challenged the intransigence of the BJP high command to field Congress turncoat Sudhir Sharma from Dharmshala in the elections. Interestingly, Rakesh Chaudhary had contested the last election on a BJP ticket against Sudhir Sharma.

With the BJP planning a grand welcome of Sudhir at Zorawar Stadium in Dharamshala on Thursday 28 March, Choudhary finds himself sidelined by the party. Gagret's BJP leader Rakesh Kalia, who lost the assembly elections 2022 against Congress dissenter Chaitanya Sharma in 2022, has reportedly resigned from the primary membership of the party.

Ranjit Singh Opens Front

Likewise, BJP leader Ranjit Singh has also expressed resentment at the party's decision to field Congress turncoat Rajendra Rana from Sujanpur seat. Rana came into limelight by defeating BJP's Prem Kumar Dhumal by a slim margin of 399 votes. In the last election, he had also defeated Ranjit Singh Rana on Congress ticket.

Lakhwinder Rana Lodges Protest

BJP leader Lakhwinder Rana, a BJP ticket hopeful has also lodged a protest with the party leadership for fielding KL Thakur from Nalagarh. Thakur, who was denied the ticket by the BJP in 2022 assembly elections, contested as an independent and defeated Lakhwinder Rana who had earlier joined BJP from Congress.

Thakur is among three independent candidates who also joined the BJP along with the six Congress leaders.

Rebellion in Dharamshala and Lahaul-Spiti

With Congress turncoat Sudhir Sharma getting a BJP ticket from Dharmshala in the by-elections, many BJP leaders including Kishan Kapoor have raised their voice against the party's move. Likewise, BJP leader Ramlal Markanda is reportedly planning to contest the elections on Congress ticket after the BJP gave the ticket to Congress turncoat Ravi Thakur from Lahaul-Spiti.

Virendra Kanwar's Displeasure

In a similar fashion, BJP leader Virendra Kanwar's displeasure is evident after Congress turncoat Devendra Bhutto joined BJP from Kutlahar. The disgruntled BJP leaders gathered in the Pandoh area of Mandi with three former MLAs Jawahar Thakur, Tejwant Nega and Colonel Inder Singh and other leaders participating in the meeting.

Allegations and Counter-allegations by Parties

BJP President Rajeev Bindal said that everyone has to accept the decision of the party high command with regard to ticket distribution. “The angry leaders are also our own,” he said. Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur said that BJP will win all the 6 seats in the assembly by-elections.

But CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said that BJP has “cheated the people of the state with money power” accusing the saffron party of horse trading. “The public will reply to the BJP in the by-elections,” Sukhu said.