‘How do you expect me to share dais with people who were responsible for Cong’s loss?’ Former Chandigarh Congress stalwart Subhash Chawla joins BJP

Often termed a “soft-spoken and humble politician”, Subhash served as the mayor of Chandigarh twice. He was part of the Congress for 50 years and a source even said that “Chawla was feeling sidelined within the party. Hence, this decision.”

While speaking to The Indian Express, Chawla said, “You tell me who was responsible for the Congress’s loss in 2021 civic elections in Chandigarh — the Aam Aadmi Party basically which won against Congress candidates in most seats. And because of that my resignation was asked — I resigned from presidentship after having lost to AAP. Now the same people have done an alliance.How do you expect me to share dais with the same people?”

He added, “Moreover, this alliance is for their vested interests and not in the interest of the party.”

Sources said that Chawla had tried to join the Chandigarh Congress president in the party’s Lok Sabha election campaign but was not invited to many events.

“He was feeling humiliated as despite being a hardcore Congress worker, he was not being given the respect he deserved,” a source said.

In 2022, Chawla resigned as president of the Congress’s Chandigarh unit, a post he had held since his appointment in February 2021, ahead of the civic polls.

With Chawla, scores of his supporters also joined the BJP.

Chawla’s joining took place in the presence of Saroj Pandey, national vice-president of Bharatiya Janata Party accompanied by BJP Chandigarh candidate Sanjay Tandon; Jitender Pal Malhotra, BJP state president, Devinder Singh Babla, vice-president, and Amit Jindal, general secretary.

In a warm reception into the BJP, Saroj Pandey said, “We welcome Subhash ji into the Bharatiya Janata Party and assure him that he will get much respect in the party. The exodus of many senior congress leaders is due to lack of the party’s vision and conflicting ideologies within the INDIA bloc. This will cause a decimation of the Congress party in India.”

BJP candidate Sanjay Tandon, who was present at the time of joining, said, “The Chandigarh BJP has been further strengthened with the joining of Subhash Chawla, who has been the strongest pillar of the Chandigarh Congress. I have known him for 25 years and have interacted with him both at political and personal level. Subhash Ji, you will find an important place in the heart of the world’s largest political party, the BJP. Moreover, Chawla Ji was impressed by PM Modi and his style of working, and therefore, he has joined our party.”

Former Congress UT president Chawla expressed his dissatisfaction with the Congress-AAP coalition in Chandigarh, citing its detrimental effects on the Congress’s standing in the city.

Leaving the party, which I joined at 21, is a harsh decision for me to take. However, I can’t ignore the damage AAP’s presence inflicted on Congress in the recent UT MC election. AAP is a party which indulges in petty politics. And Congress’s decision to join hands with AAP for the UT Lok Sabha seat will destroy its presence in UT in near future,” remarked Chawla.

He added, “Besides politics, Tandon Ji and I have a long-standing relationship. More importantly, there has been a long-standing demand in the city for a good local candidate who has a cordial relationship with its own people. I am certain that Tandon Ji will advocate for our issues in arliament.”

Chawla was asked to resign from presidentship then: Congress

Chandigarh Congress has condemned the decision of Subhash Chawla, former president of Chandigarh Congress, to join the BJP as a case of gross betrayal “after having enjoyed senior positions in the Congress party continuously for decades”.

Rajiv Sharma, spokesperson of Chandigarh Congress, in a statement issued on behalf of the party stated that the “party is proud of its thousands and lakhs of hard working workers, who have unflinching faith in party’s ideology, which includes social and economic justice and inclusive development of the people, specially those belonging to middle classes and economically weaker sections”.

The Congress spokesperson stated that “those misguided activists, who tend to change their ideology under threat or allurement of the communal forces, have no place in the grand old party, which played a vital role in country’s freedom struggle and later on in strengthening the country’s unity and integrity, despite threats posed by the divisive and regressive forces”

He also alleged that “Subhash Chawla was asked to resign from the presidentship of Chandigarh Congress in August 2022 due to allegations of inaction and lack of capacity to take right decisions at right time during his tenure as the president.”

His joining the anti-people and anti-farmer party like the BJP is not going to make any difference to the continuous pursuits of the Congress party in the service of the people of the city,” he added.