4 min readDhanbadMay 23, 2024 08:36 AM IST
First published on: May 23, 2024 at 08:32 AM IST
Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a show cause notice to Jayant Sinha for not taking any ‘interest’ in election campaigning or organisational work, the former Hazaribagh MP hit back saying that he was being “unfairly targeted” despite his “loyalty and hard work”.
On May 20, when Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency voted to elect its Member of Parliament, the BJP had issued a show cause notice to Sinha for not voting and stating that the image of the party has been tarnished with his actions and demanded a reply within two days.
Jayant Sinha was denied a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Hazaribagh. The BJP, instead, fielded MLA Manish Jaiswal from the seat.
Late on Wednesday, Sinha posted his reply on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) saying that it was “beyond his understanding” that the letter was sent when the elections were over and that he was “extremely surprised” to know that the notice was also released to the media.
In the letter addressed to BJP State General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Aditya Sahu, Sinha added that he had already had a conversation with BJP National President JP Nadda on March 2 where he stated that he had requested him to be relieved from active election duties and also posted the same on platform X.
He had then said that he wanted to focus on issues arising from global climate change, but would, however, “gladly continue” to work with the party on the economic and government related issues. Days after Sinha’s post, Jaiswal was announced as the Lok Sabha candidate.
Sinha said that after his announcement, many people came to meet him in Delhi and urged him to think about the decision. However, after Jaiswal’s candidature was announced on March 8, he congratulated him on social media and was also indicative of his support for the party’s decision.
“Meanwhile, if the party wanted me to participate in any kind of election activities, then definitely you could have contacted me. However, after my announcement on March 2, no senior party functionary or MP/MLA from Jharkhand contacted me. I was not invited to any party program, rally or organisational meeting. If Babulal Marandi ji wanted to include me in the programs then he could have definitely invited me but he did not do so,” Sinha wrote on Wednesday.
He added that when he was in Delhi on April 29, Jaiswal had also invited him to join in his nomination rally on May 1, which he had said would not be possible. “Therefore, after reaching Hazaribagh on May 2, I went straight to Manish Jaiswal ji’s residence to pay him a courtesy call. He was not present there, so I conveyed my message and best wishes to his family. After this I had no further contact with Manish ji. Subsequently returned to Delhi from Hazaribagh on May 3,” Sinha wrote, stating that he had gone abroad on May 10 after informing the Lok Sabha Speaker.
“Since the party had not invited me to any program, I did not see any special need to stay there. Before leaving I had cast my vote through the postal ballot process. Therefore, it is wrong to allege that I did not perform my voting duty…it is inappropriate in my view for you to release the letter publicly. Apart from disappointing the dedicated party workers, this attitude of yours is also going to weaken the collective efforts of the party. Additionally, despite my loyalty and hard work towards the party, it appears that I am being unfairly targeted,” Sinha added.
Jayant Sinha was denied a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Hazaribagh. The BJP, instead, fielded MLA Manish Jaiswal from the seat. (Express Archives) 
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