BJP all set to field ex-MPs Arvind Sharma, Tanwar

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, September 2

The BJP, sensing the anti-incumbency factor working against it, is going all out to put up a good show in the upcoming Assembly elections. Sources claim that the party is gearing up to field two former MPs — Dr Arvind Sharma and Dr Ashok Tanwar — in the elections. The two leaders, too, are said to be keen to fight the elections from “suitable” constituencies.

Both leaders had lost the recent Lok Sabha elections — Sharma, a four-time MP, lost from Rohtak and Tanwar from Sirsa. Interestingly, both former MPs belong to Jhajjar district. Chimani is the native place of Tanwar while Sharma belongs to MP Majra village.

“Sharma’s name is doing the rounds for the BJP ticket from Bahadurgarh, Gohana and Karnal, as he has worked in these constituencies in the past. Sharma had been Karnal MP twice on the Congress ticket, once from Sonepat as an Independent candidate and from Rohtak as the BJP nominee. Gohana is part of the Sonepat constituency and Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar) of the Rohtak constituency,” says a senior BJP leader.

He says the party had almost finalised Sharma’s ticket from Gohana but the protest by locals made the party leadership to rethink its decision. The party is now contemplating to field him from some other constituency, he adds.

Sharma (61) is a seasoned politician. In 2014, he quit the Congress and joined the BSP. Sharma was then named the chief ministerial candidate of the BSP but he lost from both Yamunanagar and Julana seats in the 2014 Assembly elections. In 2019, he contested the Lok Sabha poll from Rohtak on the BJP ticket and defeated the Congress’ strongest candidate, Deepender Hooda.

On the other hand, 48-year-old Tanwar has never contested the Assembly poll. He was elected MP from Sirsa (reserved) in 2009 on the Congress ticket but lost the next parliamentary elections in 2014 and 2019. Tanwar, a former state Congress president, had quit the Congress in 2019.

“Tanwar is among the few influential Scheduled Caste (SC) faces in the BJP, so the party leadership intends to field him in the Assembly elections as the Congress is focusing on the community votes. Tanwar being a bold leader will be able to counter the Congress’ propaganda against the BJP in terms of SCs,” says a close aide of Tanwar.

He adds Tanwar’s name is doing the rounds for the Jhajjar, Kalanaur, Nilokheri and Narwana seats.