‘BJP kept us in the dark’: As party fields Congress turncoat in Kashmir, its constituency chief resigns with team of 40

In a letter to BJP’s state president Ravinder Raina, its constituency president Altaf Ahmad Pandit, constituency secretary Mir Mehraj, youth president of Channapora Suhail Ahmad Bhat, vice-president of the constituency Parvaiz Ahmad and over three dozen workers also announced their resignations.

Resigned from the basic membership and all post from the party along with entire constituency team of 23Chanapora Srinagar,,, BJP @RavinderRaina @blsanthosh @AshokKoul59 @kishanreddybjp @JPNadda @tarunchughbjp @ashokbhat07 @rammadhav_ pic.twitter.com/21bzidxmgo

— Altaf Pandit President Chanapora constituency (@AltafPandit6) September 5, 2024

“Yes, I have resigned from the party along with my entire team,” Pandit told The Indian Express. “I was the constituency president, and for the last six years, we gave our everything to the party. We created a team and our efforts were applauded by the party leadership. But now they have given tickets to somebody else, keeping us in the dark.”

Pandit said that the party did not even make the name of the candidate public. “Last night, I got to know that the party plans to field someone from Channapora constituency,” he said. “In the morning, I got a call from the party asking us to prepare as they are fielding someone else as a candidate.”

Pandit said that the candidate fielded by the party is an outsider and joined only recently. “I have heard his son is also contesting from the same constituency on the ticket of some other party,” Pandit said. “We were left with no option but to resign.”

He said that the party’s district vice-president for Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad, has also rallied behind them and resigned.

There has been anger among the local cadre of the BJP for ignoring the party’s old hands in Kashmir and instead giving tickets to workers who joined recently. Two weeks ago, BJP’ only District Development Council member from Pulwama, Minha Lateef, announced her resignation from the party after she was denied a ticket from the Pampore assembly segment. The party fielded Shokwat Gayoor, who had joined the party a few months ago, as its candidate from Pampore.

Party leaders blame the different power centres in the BJP as the reason for ignoring senior leaders, who “have given their blood and sweat when nobody was ready to raise the flag of BJP” in the Valley.