Chandel bids adieu to BJP, joins Cong

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 22

It is after a lot of dilly-dallying that former BJP state president and three-time MP from Hamirpur Suresh Chandel today bid adieu to the BJP.

The step taken by him is a major setback for the BJP. Efforts by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and other leaders to address his grievances failed and he formally joined the Congress in the presence of AICC president Rahul Gandhi and AICC in charge Rajni Patil. State Congress president Kuldeep Rathore was also present.

Chandel (60) remained the state president of the BJP from 1998 to 2000. He won three Lok Sabha elections in 1998, 1999 and 2004 on the saffron party ticket. Having contested and won three consecutive elections, Chandel, who hails from Bilaspur (Sadar), is a familiar face in three districts of Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Una, which form part of the Hamirpur segment.

It is reliably learnt that many dissident BJP leaders like Rikhi Ram Kaundal and Dr Anil Dhiman, who were denied the Assembly ticket in the 2017 polls despite being the sitting MLAs from Jhandutta (Bilapsur) and Bhoranj (Hamirpur), could help Chandel in garnering support for the Congress.

BJP leaders on condition of anonymity admitted that Chandel’s joining the BJP was a major cause of worry as he had personal following in the three districts.

The fact that both Chandel and Congress candidate Ram Lal Thakur hail from Bilaspur district could give a major edge to the Congress here. The BJP candidate Anurag Thakur belongs to Hamirpur.

Chandel, who had been in political oblivion after his name surfaced in the “cash for query” scam in Parliament, was keen to contest the election against sitting BJP MP Anurag Thakur. However, with a section of the Congressmen from Hamirpur opposing his entry, the high command gave the ticket to a sitting MLA Ram Lal Thakur.

The Congress had opened its doors to Narendra Thakur, son of BJP stalwart Jagdev Chand Thakur, who returned to the BJP and is now the sitting MLA from Hamirpur. Similarly, Rajinder Rana, the sitting Congress MLA from Sujanpur, who defeated PK Dhumal, also defected to the Congress after having remained a staunch loyalist of the former CM.