Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Journalism of Courage
Gujarat Confidential: Veteran warns
Bharuch BJP MP Mansukh Vasava, known for not mincing words, reportedly criticised his party's criteria for selecting candidates for the upcoming local body polls.
Mansukh Vasava
Bharuch BJP MP Mansukh Vasava, known for not mincing words, reportedly criticised his party’s criteria for selecting candidates for the upcoming local body polls. On the sidelines of a party meeting in Bharuch on Wednesday, Vasava is reported to have told mediapersons, “We are not afraid of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) or the Congress, but we are afraid that the strict rules laid down by state BJP higher-ups for the selection of candidates in the upcoming local body elections will backfire”.
He was referring to the norms of candidates being below 60 years of age, not having relatives who are party members and no tickets if they have done three terms. “Party workers are unhappy…as they have poured their blood and sweat for the party. Now, when the time has come to give them a leadership role, they are denied tickets, which has demoralised them. The party is now seeking new faces for the local body election…” Vasava is learnt to have said.
He claimed the party workers had “personally shared their feelings” with him. Vasava could not be reached for comment.
Roles Reversed
Dharmik Malaviya, a former Patidar quota agitation leader who was earlier eyeing a BJP ticket from a seat in the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) will now only campaign for the party even as his wife Monali Hirpara, who was an Aam Aadmi Party corporator, has been denied a ticket by the party. On the other hand, the BJP has nominated the wife of Malaviya’s colleague and former quota agitation leader, Alpesh Kathiriya, from a seat in Surat.
Both Malaviya and Kathiriya unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections from the Olpad and Varachha seats in Surat in 2022 on AAP tickets and later joined the BJP.
Malaviya told this newspaper, “Top BJP leaders told me not to contest the coming election from ward number 2 and suggested that I and Alpesh Kathiriya rather help the party by working on the weaker seats in Surat and other parts of the state where local body election is scheduled on April 26. I accepted the decision of the party higher-ups and announced through social media that I will not contest the forthcoming coming SMC elections.”
(Kamal Saiyed)
Advertisement
Loading Recommendations...
Live Blog