Backdoor Entry

Chandel, the BJP MP expelled in the cash-for-query case, joins the party8217;s campaign in Kullu

Till a month ago, the BJP wouldn8217;t have anything to do with Suresh Chandel, its former MP from Hamirpur who was expelled from the House for his involvement in the cash-for-query scam. Even his request to contest the Assembly elections was turned down by the party.

But now the BJP has roped in Chandel8217;s services for its campaign. Chandel, 47, who was the party8217;s organising secretary in the early 1990s, is seen as a troubleshooter, a role that is important considering the party8217;s internal squabbles in the state. Chandel was also party president in Himachal Pradesh during Dhumal8217;s tenure as chief minister. Both Dhumal and Chandel belong to Himachal8217;s Hamirpur district.

Party insiders confirmed that the former MP has been asked to supervise the campaign in Kullu. Chandel was in Shimla on Sunday at the party office where organising secretary Ram Lal had convened a meeting of senior leaders, including the party8217;s chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Though Satyapal Jain, in charge of party affairs in

Himachal Pradesh, denied that Chandel had been given any party assignment, he admitted that he was involved in the campaign.

8220;Chandel had been a three-time MP. He is still a primary member of the party. If he volunteers his services to the BJP, how can we say no to him,8221; asks Jain.

For the past year, Chandel has been trying to make amends. In June 2006, during the Lok Sabha byelection for Hamirpur, he had expressed a desire to be part of the process, but the party kept him at a distance. This time he wanted to contest the elections but the BJP once again decided to keep him out of it. Giving him a ticket would have meant giving the Congress a chance to bring up corruption charges once again.

But now the party seems to have decided to let Chandel work 8220;behind the scenes8221;.

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Chandel was one of the 10 Lok Sabha MPs caught on camera in the cash-for-query scam in 2005. Last month the Delhi High Court ordered the police to complete investigation in the case in two months.

Chandel, meanwhile, is hard at work in Himachal. 8220;I am not sitting back at home and I am taking things in my stride. I have been wrongly punished. Things are not in my favour but one day I will prove that I have done no wrong,8221; says Chandel.