Setback to BJP, three leaders lose Solan coop federation poll

The BJP that had won five posts of director of the Solan District Cooperative Marketing and Consumer Federation unopposed suffered a major blow as three of its prominent leaders lost the elections to the federation held here on Tuesday.

Yadavendra defeated Kanti Swaroop in the Solan zone-I while Dayaram defeated current BJP general secretary Dharmendra Thakur in the Solan zone. In both zones, the BJP candidates were pitted against each other. In the Kandaghat zone, Ashok Thakur lost to Kapil Sharma of the Congress in the Kandaghat zone.

The BJP now has seven directors from nine zones while two belong to the Congress. They will elect the federation Chairman within a week.

The reputation of several BJP leaders was at stake in three zones where elections were held today though one zone witnessed dissidence in the party. In the Kandaghat zone, Sharma was the lone Congress candidate to win the elections by securing 11 votes while Ashok Thakur of the BJP received 10 votes. In Solan zone-1, Kanti Swaroop received eight votes while his opponent Yadvendra got 10 votes, with one vote being declared invalid. In the Solan zone, BJP general secretary Dharmendra Thakur received only five votes while his opponent Dayaram received eight.

Kanti Swaroop, a close associate of state BJP president Rajeev Bindal, also faced a drubbing in the elections. Considered a major player in the cooperative sector, he failed to make the cut this time. Similarly, Ashok Thakur suffered a setback in Kandaghat as a section of BJP leaders supported the Congress candidate. Still worse, Dharmendra’s defeat exposed factionalism in the BJP. While several factions of the BJP were pitted against each other in the Solan and Kandaghat zones, party leaders from Kasauli also evinced keen interest in the election.

It remains to be seen whether current Chairman Sundaram Thakur, who was elected unopposed, is re-elected as he faces a formidable challenge from Vijay Thakur, who also won the election unopposed from the Chail zone.

Some BJP leaders have filed a case against Sundaram, exposing factionalism in the party’s Kasauli unit. Former minister Rajiv Saizal reprimanded those who had got the FIR registered, though it had no impact on them.