BJP expels Saini for contesting Nalagarh bypoll as Independent

Solan, June 29

The BJP today expelled Harpreet Saini, co-incharge of media, Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM), from the primary membership of the party for six years. Saini is contesting the Nalagarh byeletion as an Independent candidate against the party’s official nominee KL Thakur. He was expelled on the directions of state party president Rajeev Bindal.

Harpreet had also contested the 2017 Assembly election as an Independent candidate and bagged 5,443 votes. KL Thakur had lost the seat by merely 1,242 votes in 2017. The same story could repeat yet again as Saini has influence in some pockets where he could mar the BJP’s prospects.

Harpreet is the nephew of former Nalagarh MLA HN Saini, who had won three Assembly elections consecutively in 1998, 2003 and 2007. After HN Saini’s demise in 2011, his wife had contested the byelection and lost to Congress candidate Lakhwinder Rana by a narrow margin of 1,599 votes.