BJP Leader Suresh Chandel, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha in the wake of the cash-for-query scam, is currently lobbying hard for a ticket to fight the upcoming Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh.Sources said Chandel has recently met several senior BJP leaders, including party President Rajnath Singh, to request for his nomination from the Kot Kehloor constituency of Bilaspur district. Kot Kehloor is a segment of the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency, which he won in three consecutive elections.Though Chandel remains hopeful, sources in the party said the high command is unlikely to oblige him, as his nomination will deflate the party campaign. They told The Indian Express: “We are planning to make corruption a major election issue. Therefore, we cannot field him and provide the ruling party with an opportunity to hit back at us. The party cannot allow its own election campaign to be deflated with such a singular act of indiscretion.”The BJP, the sources said, is planning to make use of some anti-Virbhadra Singh CDs in the poll campaign to buttress its allegations of corruption. Chandel is a former president of the state BJP. With three Lok Sabha victories, 37-year-old Chandel had shown considerable promise as a politician till he landed in the scam in 2005.
