What's cooking? Chandigarh BJP ticket contenders meet at dinner

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, November 9

Top city BJP leaders who do not see eye-to-eye put up a united front as they shared a table with the party’s general secretary (organisation) last night.

Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher, former MP Satya Pal Jain and ex-city BJP presidents Sanjay Tandon and Arun Sood, all local MP ticket aspirants who are said to be at loggerheads with one another often, came together at a dinner party hosted by Mayor Anup Gupta, who is said to have his eyes on the ticket for the city’s top political post. Other bigwigs at the table were current city BJP chief Jatinder Pal Malhotra and BJP Punjab and Chandigarh general secretary Manthri Srinivasulu. Though the city mayor played it down as just a “dinner”, the meeting has raised a lot of eyebrows. Some read the move as the party’s attempt to present a united face ahead of the elections, while others see it as Mayor Gupta’s attempt to flaunt his ability to bring all of them together on one platform.

Notably, Gupta has been holding back-to-back meetings with different groups in what can be seen as his attempt to brace for the election ticket. He had an audience with all his senior party colleagues and officers at his residence in Sector 28 last night.

“Normally, at the end of one’s tenure, a mayor holds events to show their achievements. But this is quite different… clearly showing ambition for the top political post here,” said a BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.

A party colleague even claimed that a senior leader had earlier asked him to carry out such activities in an attempt to bag the coveted ticket. However, speaking with Chandigarh Tribune, Gupta dismissed the speculations and said that a lot was being read into the mere “dinner meetings” he was holding as a mayor.

Meanwhile, two-time MP Kher could be in the fray once again, as she is said to be eying the party ticket for the third term straight. The two-time unlucky Tandon, too, is trying his luck for the third time for the ticket.

Jain has always been interested in getting a ticket from the city. Sood is also gearing up to boost his prospects for the ticket. Not one to be left behind, Chandigarh University Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu too has been holding several events in the city through his NGO. He is said to be vying for the party ticket.