Shimla (Himachal Pradesh): Six Congress rebels, who were disqualified for cross-voting and subsequently joined BJP, had been given the party ticket to contest for the June 1 bypolls. This caused dissatisfaction among BJP cadre, prompting the party to engage its senior leadership including Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Rajeev Bindal and Leader of opposition Jairam Thakur to pitch in for troubleshooting.
Bindal and Thakur addressed grievances expressed by the BJP leaders, who contested the 2022 Assembly polls but did not get a ticket this time.
With Lahaul-Spiti MLA Ram Lal Markanda raising the flag of rebellion after he was denied ticket, several other BJP leaders decided to follow suit. Ranjit Singh Rana, a BJP leader in Hamirpur's Sujanpur, decided to contest as an independent candidate after the party announced to offer ticket to Congress rebel Rajinder Rana.
Shortly after BJP's announcements, former minister Markanda resigned, indicating that he might contest as Congress candidate. His decision was prompted by the nomination of Congress rebel Ravi Thakur.
After being denied a ticket in the bypolls in Solan's Nalagarh, BJP's Lakhwinder Rana, who had left Congress in 2002, said he committed a mistake by joining the BJP. While addressing his supporters, he said that had he stayed back in Congress, he would have become an MLA.
Likewise, Rakesh Choudhary, one of the OBC faces of BJP from Kangra district, dared the BJP high command to field Congress turncoat Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala in the elections. Interestingly, Rakesh Chaudhary had contested the last election on a BJP ticket against Sudhir Sharma.
In Gagret constituency, BJP's Ramesh Kalia has resigned after Congress rebel Chaitanya Sharma joined the party. BJP leaders Ramesh Dhwala from Dehra in Kangra and Virender Kanwar from Kutlehar in Una have also expressed unhappiness over tickets being given to Congress rebels.
Jairam Thakur also met BJP leader and former MP Maheshwar Singh Thakur in an effort to appease him after he was denied Lok Sabha ticket from Mandi seat.
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