Despite alliance with BAP, Congress candidates don’t withdraw papers

BAP sources claimed that BJP candidate Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya who was earlier in the Congress, was mounting pressure on Congress candidates to not withdraw their nominations. Malviya does not want BAP candidate Rajkumar Roat to get an easy pass to win elections.

India alliance seat sharing, Congress seat-sharing agreement, congress BAP alliance, Bharatiya Adivasi Party, Banswara LS seat, Arvind Damor, lok sabha elections 2024, indian express news

(Left) Arvind Damor to fight from Banswara and Kapoor Singh from Bagidora. (File Photo)

The Congress, which had reached a seat-sharing agreement and stitched an alliance with Bharatiya Adivasi Party (BAP) after hectic parleys on Banswara LS seat, suffered a major setback Monday after its candidate Arvind Damor and Bagidora by-election candidate Kapoor Singh did not withdraw their nominations.

Damor, who had filed his nomination on April 4 barely an hour after BAP candidate Rajkumar Raot appealed to the grand old party for support on the Banswara LS seat, was expected to withdraw his candidature.

Monday (April 8) was the last date to withdraw nominations. Congress insiders claimed both candidates have been expelled from the party for 6 years but the official letter is yet to be released.

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Also Read | Congress seals deal with Adivasi party BAP in Rajasthan

Interestingly, Damor and Singh will remain the Congress candidate despite the expulsion, because the party had allotted the election symbols to them before expulsion and the last date to withdraw nomination is over.

PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra Monday also confirmed in a press conference the Congress is aligning with BAP to save the Constitution and defeat BJP. However, there was no news of Damor and Singh as they switched off their phones. At 10 am, Damor posted on Facebook he will contest under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi thereby clearly indicating that he was in no mood to back off.

Later, BAP spokesperson Prof Jitendra Meena posted on social media requesting Congress leadership to come forward in Banswara and campaign for BAP candidate to defeat the enemies who want this alliance to break.

This incident, party insiders feel, might create confusion for voters who can vote for Congress symbol despite the candidates being expelled and cut into BAP vote bank. There were speculation BAP will withdraw nominations from Jalore and Chittorgarh for Congress in return of favour for Banswara. But things didn’t go as planned.

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Congress had earlier decided to field Arjun Bamania as its candidate on the last day of filing nominations for Banswara seat, but he did not turn up. Left with no choice, the Congress gave its election symbol to Arvind Damor. All this time, discussions were going on about the alliance between Congress and BAP, but Congress insiders said that local leaders were not ready to align with BAP.

BAP sources claimed that BJP candidate Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya who was earlier in the Congress, was mounting pressure on Congress candidates to not withdraw their nominations. Malviya does not want BAP candidate Rajkumar Roat to get an easy pass to win elections.

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