Unease among BJP leaders over Congress rebellion in Himachal

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, March 3

Rebellion by six Congress MLAs against the current Congress government and apprehension rife that they might join the BJP has caused unease among the Opposition leaders in Kangra, Hamirpur and Una districts. The BJP leaders are feeling that in case the Congress leaders join BJP they would become eligible for party tickets which might affect their chances of getting party ticket in future.

Though officially the BJP leaders are maintaining that they are a disciplined party and would abide by whatever decision is taken by high command, many of them are feeling threatened.

A senior leader of BJP said that it was a paradoxical situation for them. They have been accusing the Congress leaders of corruption and misgovernance for decades.

“Now if they join the party, we would have to praise them and might have to seek votes for them. Many leaders have been serving the party for decades have aspiration for contesting the Assembly or parliamentary elections. In case the Congress legislators are given ticket, it would seal our chances for contesting polls. So, many of us would will left with no option but to join other parties,” he said.

The Congress legislators who have rebelled against the party include Congress MLA from Dharamsala, Sudhir Sharma, MLA from Sujanpur in Hamirpur district, Rajinder Rana, MLA from Barsar in Hamirpur district Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, MLA from Kutlehar in Una district Davinder Kumar Bhutto, MLA from Gagret in Una district Chaitanya Sharma and Ravi Thakur from Lahaul and Spiti.

In Dharamsala, Sudhir Sharma contested and won the last Assembly election against BJP candidate Rakesh Chaudhary. Besides Chaudhary, there are many BJP leaders aspiring for party ticket from Dharamsala. They are apprehensive that entry of Sudhir Sharma might seal their fate for contesting assembly elections from Dharamsala.

In Kutlehar Assembly constituency, Congress MLA Davinder Kumar Bhutto has rebelled. This has made the supporters of former minister Varinder Kanwar apprehensive. Supporters of Varinder Kanwar said that they have been fighting at the ground level with Davinder Kumar Bhutto. “Now if we are asked to support the Congress MLA at the cost of former minister Varinder Kanwar, many of us might have to oppose the party decision,” he said.

Rajinder Rana shot to fame by defeating former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal in 2017 Assembly elections. The supporters of Prem Kumar Dhumal still nurse a grudge against Rana for defeating and ending the political career of Dhumal in 2017. Rana’s entry into BJP might lead to direct conflict with supporters of former CM, said a BJP leader from Dhumal camp.

The BJP leaders from Barsar and Gagret Assembly constituency are also fearing the entry of Congress MLAs into party.

The state spokesperson of BJP, Sanjay Sharma, when asked, however, said that BJP was a disciplined party and leaders would abide by any decision taken by the high command. He, however, said that the Congress MLAs joining BJP was still a far-fetched idea.