Rift in UP BJP over selection of candidates

Factionalism in the Uttar Pradesh BJP has come to the fore over selection of Lok Sabha nominees from the politically crucial state.

Protests over ticket distribution reached the party headquarters in the state capital on Tuesday. According to party sources, several senior leaders were said to be ‘extremely upset’ over the manner in which candidates from UP were chosen. Some leaders have openly made clear their resentment. Others are reportedly bearing it silently for now.

The list of sulking leaders is quite long. Many of them are blaming party chief Rajnath Singh for the ‘mess’. 

“Being a leader from UP, Singh knows very well the state of affairs of the party in the state...he should have consulted the senior leaders from the state before finalizing the nominees,” said a state leader. Even Lalji Tandon, the incumbent MP from Lucknow, had complained that there was no communication from the senior leadership that he could be denied a re-nomination because Rajnath Singh wanted to contest from here.

Similarly senior leader Hriday Narain Dixit has expressed his serious displeasure over the selection of Sakshi Maharaj from Unnao. “I was not consulted at all,” Dixit, who hails from Unnao, said.

Another senior leader Vinay Katiyar was also upset after he was denied nomination from Faizabad. “Lallu Singh, who lost the assembly poll from Ayodhya in 2012, can not be expected to win from Faizabad,” said a Katiyar supporter.

Some leaders are upset over tickets going to persons perceived as ‘outsiders’ within inner circles of the party.