Chandigarh BJP president Malhotra, Tandon put up united show

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 7

In what seems to be an attempt to curb factionalism and put up a united show within the city BJP after losing the recent Lok Sabha poll, the party high command has clearly told city unit president Jatinder Pal Malhotra and senior leader Sanjay Tandon to work together.

The two leaders are now seen together at major meetings and events of the party. They were first publicly seen together during the recent visit of Home Minister Amit Shah, who was here for the launch of 24x7 water supply project.

At the inauguration venue in Shivalik Park, Mani Majra, Malhotra and Tandon were sitting backstage. Former city BJP president Arun Sood also arrived there later. Both were also present in an important 40-minute four-member exclusive meeting with Shah and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria.

Yesterday, the two leaders went to Delhi where they together met several ministers. They also met Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs. Both have mostly been working separately so far.

Another fact that has come to light is both former MP Satya Pal Jain and former BJP president Arun Sood, who are accused of not actively campaigning during the Lok Sabha election in the city, were not present in the meeting with Shah.

Some party men raised the issue with senior leaders about Sood allegedly trying to run a parallel local party unit, which, the latter denied saying that meeting officials does not mean he is doing any harm to the party. Without the knowledge of the local party chief, Sood led a delegation that met the UT Administrator and the Deputy Commissioner, which created rumblings in the local party unit.

Sources said the party had received a report about individual leaders here and was studying it. They said after the Congress wrested the Chandigarh parliamentary seat from the BJP, which it was holding for two consecutive terms, leaders at the Centre were serious about the UT.

Congress candidate Manish Tewari had won the seat defeating BJP’s first-timer Tandon with a thin margin of 2,504 votes.