Moneybag Tanwar may quit Delhi BSP

Tanwar,51,an industrialist who runs hotels and also has stakes in real estate,told Newsline on Friday,“I am making an important announcement tomorrow — that is all I can say (for now).”

Tanwar’s personal wealth is pegged at over Rs 150 crore — BSP’s West Delhi candidate in the general elections Deepak Bhardwaj had declared assets worth more than Rs 600 crore before the polls.

Tanwar had garnered maximum number of votes among BSP’s Delhi candidates in the general elections: 88,120. He had also fought last year’s Assembly elections on a BSP ticket.

A close associate said Tanwar is frustrated with the “highly commercial” BSP. “He wants to help the poor — he already gives pensions to 2,000 widows in neighbouring villages and runs mobile dispensaries in rural areas,” the associate said. “But in BSP,he figured that the poor had no voice,so he decided to leave the party.”

BSP’s Delhi unit president Brahm Singh Bidhuri said,“We will have to confirm first (before commenting on Tanwar quitting the party).”

Senior BSP leader and Member of Parliament Ambeth Rajan said each party member is free to make his or her choice in a democracy.

The Delhi BSP unit has been ailing from defections since the Lok Sabha polls — after Haji Dilshad Ali quit just before polling in the Capital,there were rumours that the party’s Chandni Chowk candidate,Haji Mustaqeem,transferred his support to the Congress. A BSP source told Newsline on Friday that Mustaqeem is no longer an active party member. “He is too busy with his business to work for the party,” he said.