BJP lost Lok Sabha poll as it fielded outsider from Hisar: Bishnoi

Tribune News Service

Hisar, August 24

The internal strife in the BJP which started brewing during the Lok Sabha elections has come out into the open as former MP Kuldeep Bishnoi has criticised the party’s decision to field Energy Minister Ranjit Singh as its candidate from the Hisar seat.

Singh had lost the Lok Sabha poll to Jai Prakash of the Congress by 60,000 votes. He also trailed from Bishnoi’s stronghold Adampur Assembly segment by 12,000 votes. Singh had also vented his ire on Bishnoi alleging that some party leaders had worked against him.

Bishnoi said here today that ticket allocation during the Lok Sabha election was wrong. “People had wanted to vote for the BJP. Had the party fielded me from Hisar, I would have won the election by the highest margin among all 10 seats in Haryana. But people did not accept Ranjit Singh as he was an outsider,” Bishnoi said while interacting with mediapersons today.

“Personally, I have good terms with Ranjit Singh. But he was not an appropriate candidate for Hisar,” he reiterated. When asked about the statement of Ranjit Singh who announced to contest the Assembly poll even if the BJP did not give him the ticket, he stated that all the leaders should maintain discipline in the party. Sources said that former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had ensured BJP ticket to Ranjit Singh who was inducted in the party at the eleventh hour and immediately was made a candidate. Ranjit had won as an Independent from Rania Assembly constituency in Sirsa district in 2019 and had extended support to the BJP government.

Bishnoi had joined the BJP in August 2022 after leaving the Congress. The BJP later gave ticket to his son Bhavya Bishnoi in the byelection after Kuldeep resigned from the Congress. Bhavya is sitting MLA from their pocket borough Adampur segment.

He was aspiring for BJP ticket from Hisar Lok Sabha seat during the General Election held in April but the party fielded Ranjit Singh. Notably, Ranjit, who is a son of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, has a traditional rivalry with the Bishnoi family as he had contested against Kuldeep Bishnoi twice from Adampur on Congress ticket in the past.

Bishnoi, however, said he would not contest the poll and added that his son Bhavya Bishnoi and two other aides including sitting BJP MLA from Fatehabad Dura Ram and Randhir Panihar who is aspiring for ticket from Nalwa segment would contest the poll.