BJP party goes all out to placate disgruntled Himachal leaders

Pratibha Chauhan

Shimla, April 15

Having already taken the lead in launching its poll campaign, the BJP is going all out to placate its disgruntled leaders while the delay in finalisation of its candidates is worrying the Congress leaders and party workers.

Bid to put house in order

• The BJP has appointed former Nalagarh MLA Lakhvinder Rana as state spokesperson. Rana had been sore over the BJP taking back rebel KL Thakur
• Shaswat Kapoor, son of outgoing BJP MP from Kangra Kishan Kapoor, was appointed state vice-president of the BJYM. Kapoor was unhappy as he was not consulted while deciding the candidate for the Kangra Lok Sabha seat
• Attempts are being made by the BJP to woo back former minister Ram Lal Markanda, who is in the race for the Congress ticket for bypoll from Lahaul-Spiti

The delay by the Congress in finalising its candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats of Kangra and Hamirpur and the six Assembly bypolls has provided ample opportunity for the BJP to woo back its disgruntled leaders, who could have joined hands with the Congress.

State BJP president Rajeev Bindal today appointed former party MLA from Nalagarh Lakhvinder Rana as BJP state spokesperson. Rana had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Assembly poll against BJP rebel KL Thakur who has now been inducted into the BJP. Rana had been sore on the BJP taking back Thakur as this would deny him the opportunity to contest the Assembly by-poll in case the resignation of Thakur is accepted.

Shaswat Kapoor, son of outgoing BJP MP from Kangra Kishan Kapoor, was today appointed state vice president of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). Kapoor had openly aired his grouse at not even being consulted while deciding the candidate for the Kangra Lok Sabha seat. Apart from this, Kapoor was keen that since he was being denied the Lok Sabha ticket at least his son should have been considered for the Assembly by-poll.

The two appointments are a clear attempt by the BJP to placate leaders who were unhappy over the induction of six Congress rebels into the BJP and all of them being given the saffron ticket.

Attempts are on by the BJP to woo back former minister Ram Lal Markanda who is in the race for the Congress ticket from the tribal Assembly segment of Lahaul Spiti, going to the bypoll. He has so far maintained distance from the BJP as he is hopeful of getting the Congress ticket, which is yet to be finalized.

On the other hand, Congress workers are eagerly awaiting the finalistaion of the tickets for the two Lok Sabha and the six Assembly bypoll. Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Pratibha Singh today said that the tickets will be finalized at the earliest. “A series of consultations for ensuring that the best candidate is fielded have been held and tickets will be announced soon,” she said.

The Congress had been toying with the idea of fielding some of the BJP rebels like Markanda from Lahaul Spiti and former BJP MP Virender Kashyap from Shimla (reserved) parliamentary seat. However, a section of the leadership is opposed to the idea as they feel that this will demoralise the party’s own cadre.