Udit Raj hopeful, will contest independent if BJP ducks him

Sitting BJP MP from North West Delhi Parliamentary Constituency Udit Raj has not given up hope as to his renomination by his party. However, he will contest as an independent if BJP denies him the ticket which is yet to be announced. Earlier, he had expressed disappointment over the absence of his name from the list of BJP candidates for Delhi announced by party.

New Delhi: BJP MP Udit Raj Tuesday morning said he will resign from the party if denied ticket in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections and may contest independently from the North West Delhi parliamentary seat but was willing to wait till party leadrship takes final decision on his seat. Raj had earlier tweeted expressing hope that party will not deny him a ticket and force his exit from BJP.

"I still hope that I will file nomination from my constituency and BJP where I have worked hard and proved my metal. I hope I will not be forced to leave BJP" read a tweet of BJP MP on Monday night.

Raj, who is sitting MP from North West Delhi, said he will wait for some time for a reply from the party and then file his nomination as an Independent candidate.

However, in one of his another tweet, he said: "There's anger among my dalit supporters throughout the country. The party is not listening to me. How will a common dalit get eustice"

Earlier he had asked the BJP to clear the confusion over his candidature for the Lok Sabha polls, even as the saffron party announced candidates for East Delhi and New Delhi.

Raj told reporters that he talked to several senior leaders about his Lok Sabha ticket but was asked to wait.

He also claimed that he tried to talk to BJP chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi but could not do so despite multiple efforts.

"I am the best performer of the party among its Delhi MPs. Also, I am the only dalit leader of the BJP known across the country. I don't know why I am being treated like this," he said.

Raj, on Monday night, accompanied by dozens of his supporters, reached the Delhi BJP office on Pandit Pant Marg after the reports that party will field singer Hans Raj Hans as its candidate from North-West Delhi.

Supporters of both Raj and Hans created ruckus at the party office, they said.

Earlier, supporters of Raj gathered at his Atul Grove Road residence and resorted to sloganeering demanding "justice" for their leader.

Raj had merged his Indian Justice Party (IJP) with the BJP and contested Lok Sabha election from North-West Delhi in 2014.

The BJP MP has been a vocal supporter of dalit rights and have often took views contrary to the partyline on occasions like the Sabrimala issue and 'Bharat Bandh' called by dalit organisations in 2018.