Protests by the BJP workers spilled over to the streets at half-a-dozen places in Rajasthan on Sunday after the announcement of the second list of the party’s candidates for the November 25 State Assembly elections. Supporters of local leaders, who were denied tickets, gave voice to their resentment and demanded that “outsiders” fielded in their constituencies be sent back.
The BJP has named 83 candidates in its second list released on Saturday, taking the total number of nominees announced so far to 124. Party workers staged protests in Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bundi, Alwar, Udaipur, and Jaipur and raised slogans against BJP State president C.P. Joshi, while several office-bearers of the party’s district units tendered their resignations.
Chittorgarh MLA Chandrabhan Singh Aakya, dropped from the seat, held Mr. Joshi responsible for denial of ticket to him and said the party would suffer because of the decision. Mr. Aakya’s supporters burnt an effigy of Mr. Joshi in the town, which is his native place and his Parliamentary constituency. The security at Mr. Joshi’s residence in Madhuban Colony was strengthened after some youths hurled stones at the entrance gate.
The BJP has fielded former Minister Narpat Singh Rajvi from Chittorgarh after shifting him from Jaipur’s Vidyadhar Nagar, where Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari has been given the ticket. Mr. Rajvi — the son-in-law of former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat — had expressed resentment over his replacement in the first list, though he had earlier won the Chittorgarh seat twice.
The supporters of ticket aspirants Dinesh Badala, Ganesh Paliwal and Mahendra Kothari vandalised the BJP office in Rajsamand in protest against sitting MLA Deepti Maheshwari being fielded from the seat. The police controlled the situation after protesters ransacked election-related material, damaged furniture, and burnt tyres on the road in front of the party office.
Udaipur Municipal Corporation’s Deputy Mayor Paras Singhvi opposed the candidature of Tarachand Jain and urged the party’s leadership to reconsider the decision. Addressing party workers, Mr. Singhvi said Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, who had earlier represented Udaipur in the Assembly, had “needlessly interfered” in local politics to deny a ticket to him.
Protests were also staged in Bundi against Ashok Dogra, and in Alwar against Sanjay Sharma, both of whom had won in 2018 and have been fielded again. The supporters of sitting MLA Ashok Lahoti from Sanganer, near Jaipur, staged a protest against the ticket being given to Bhajan Lal Sharma and raised slogans outside the BJP State headquarters here.
Mr. Joshi told journalists after inaugurating a media centre here that the party’s candidates were being selected through a rigorous process involving “collective decision”. “People have enthusiasm and faith in the BJP after the release of lists... We are like a family. All of us will work together in the interest of the party,” Mr. Joshi said.
