Top Chandigarh BJP leaders put up show of unity

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, July 14

A month after the Congress wrested the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat from the BJP, the top city leaders of the saffron party today put up a united show at the executive meeting, which was presided over by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Apart from city party president Jatinder Pal Malhotra, former two-time city MP Kirron Kher, ex-BJP presidents Arun Sood and Sanjay Tandon, who was the party candidate for the seat, shared the dais.

During the campaigning for the LS election, these leaders were rarely seen together. Some party leaders had felt that Sood, who was among ticket aspirants, was not seen actively campaigning for Tandon, with whom he once shared a good bonhomie.

Please all pardon me, but this was not the seat to be lost by the BJP. It pained me. May be God’s grace was perhaps less on us as there was no lack in hard work either by the party or the candidate. —Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister

Kher was also not seen campaigning during the election. On the day of result, she had criticised Tandon for keeping her out of campaigning. She had also said works done by her in the past 10 years were not propagated among voters of the city. Tandon and Kher had been at loggerheads in the past. At one time, half of the BJP councillors owed allegiance to Tandon, then city unit president, and the others to MP Kher. Whatever their positions were, differences remained.

It had been observed that some disgruntled leaders had worked against the BJP candidate. Close associates of those leaders did not campaign and created a political situation instead, which helped Congress candidate Manish Tewari. Sources said the names of certain leaders had been given to the party high command for action.