BJP’s former Arki MLA lobbying for ticket

Ambika Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Solan, October 2

Two-time former MLA Govind Ram Sharma is trying hard to make his presence felt in the Arki Assembly constituency ahead of the ticket allotment by the BJP for the byelection.

The Arki seat fell vacant following the death of local MLA and six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Govind Ram Sharma, a two-time MLA from Arki, was promised a significant post in the party after he was denied the ticket in the last Assembly elections. He, however, was not given any post. Sharma is now keen to contest the Arki byelection.

He said, “I’m optimistic that the BJP will allot me the ticket and am all prepared to file my nomination papers on October 8”.

Sharma had met party national president JP Nadda recently. Rattan Pal, chairman, State Cooperative Development Federation, who had unsuccessfully contested the last Assembly election against Virbahdra Singh, is considered the BJP’s choice. He had lost to Virbhadra in Arki by a narrow margin in 2017. Though he is facing opposition from a section of partymen in Arki, he is considered a strong candidate.

As the Assembly elections are a year away, some party leaders, who also nursed the desire to contest the byelection, have adopted a wait and watch policy. They are persuading Sharma to contest either on the BJP ticket or as an Independent candidate, as this will help them stake their claims to the ticket in the next Assembly elections if the BJP fails to wrest back the Arki seat from the Congress.

The BJP has already begun preparations for the Arki byelection. It has divided the constituency into seven zones-Dhundan, Domehar, Kunihar, Diggal, Jainagar, Arki and Darlaghat–and a slew of senior leaders have been entrusted the task of mustering support for the party.