Kablana’s entry into BJP hots up political scene in Jhajjar

The entry of former JJP district president Sanjay Kablana into the BJP fold in the run-up to the Assembly poll has given a new shape to poll equations, especially in the Badli constituency.

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It has also spiced up the ongoing race for BJP ticket as it is being claimed that Sanjay has joined the party after being promised that he would be fielded from any of the constituencies in the district. So far, he has contested two Assembly polls from Badli — once on the BJP ticket in 2009, and later, as a JJP candidate in 2019. Both times he was defeated, but managed to make his presence felt in the electoral battle.

A native of Kablana village here, Sanjay quit the JJP before the Lok sabha poll.

“Since the BJP national secretary and former minister Om Prakash Dhankar is a strong contender for the party ticket from Badli this time, too, it is being presumed that the BJP will not field Sanjay from there by ignoring its senior leader. It is possible only when Dhankar shifts to another constituency on his own,” said sources.

It is being speculated that the BJP may field Sanjay from Beri, where the Congress veteran leader, Dr Raghuvir Singh Kadian, has remained unbeaten for the past five times, since 2000.

“If the BJP fields Dhankar from Badli, Sanjay’s entry into the BJP will definitely benefit the former as he (Sanjay) has been active for a long time. A multi-cornered contest is expected at Badli as some leaders are gearing up to jump into fray as Independent. Badli is a Jat-dominated constituency and a major chunk of this farming community seems to be dissatisfied with the BJP government,” claimed Amit Kumar, a political observer.

At present, Kuldeep Vats is the Congress MLA from Badli, who defeated BJP’s Om Prakash Dhankar in the 2019 Assembly poll. Dhankar had defeated Vats in the 2014 Assembly poll and became agriculture minister in the then BJP government led by Manohar Lal Khattar. Vats contested that election as an Independent.

Meanwhile, a sense of insecurity has gripped local BJP leaders vying for ticket from Beri after Kablana’s name has surfaced as a contender.