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| Rebels keep BJP engaged in fire fighting in Kathua | | | Kunal Shrivatsa/Sanjay Pathak
Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 21: While all other political parties have geared up their resources to fight the poll battle in Kathua Assembly segment, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) these days is busy in dousing the enraged flames of revolt of its Kathua based leaders.
If sources are to be believed then on the second consecutive day, the BJP leadership all through the Friday exercised every possible ways and means to conciliate its leaders in Kathua, however, the BJP leaders, who landed specially from Punjab to resolve the issue, failed to persuade the aggrieved local leaders to change their mind and heart on their decision to field a joint candidate who will contest as an independent against party nominee Rajiv Jasrotia.
A galaxy of BJP leaders from neighbouring state of Punjab including Urban Development Minister of Punjab Anil Joshi, MLA Jallandhar KD Bhandari, Punjab BJP General Secretary Rakesh Rathore and BJP District Pathankot President Satish Gupta made strenuous efforts to mollify Kathua's local leaders but they could not able to appease them.
"It was really a peculiar situation where several top BJP leaders from Punjab had to move from one locality of Kathua to another in a bid to pacify the miffed local workers as well as leaders who are not ready to accept Rajiv Jasrotia's candidature…The act was just like a door to door campaign wherein instead of voters, the party leaders were wooing their own colleagues, who have raised a banner of revolt," said sources.
The team of Punjab leaders first visited Kathua District BJP General Secretary Raghunandan Singh Babloo's residence at Janglote near Kathua and pleaded with him to refrain from anti-party activities and accept the party's decision, however, sources privy to Babloo revealed that he plainly refused the pleas of BJP's group of emissaries.
Then the BJP leaders on a peace mission marched to the residence of Kathua District BJP Vice President Prem Nath Dogra where again they had to face disappointment as Dogra also did not relent and expressed his resentment over party's decision to nominate Jasrotia as BJP candidate from Kathua Assembly constituency.
Sources quoting Dogra said, "The state BJP leadership should conduct a survey to gauge the mood of the people especially party workers and leaders from Kathua…The outcome of the survey will tell what the people of the constituency really want."
After getting a luke warm response in their one to one meeting with Babloo and Dogra, the BJP leaders then moved to the residence of executive member of State BJP Sain Dass, whose son Gopal Mahajan is general secretary of Kathua district BJP.
Here again, the BJP team from Punjab had to return empty handed as the displeased father-son duo conveyed their unhappiness over handing over party mandate to a non-local.
When contacted, one of the annoyed BJP leaders from Kathua wishing anonymity told Early Times that they communicated their displeasure to the team on the selection of Jasrotia as party candidate.
"Three months ago a resolution was passed wherein it was conveyed to State leadership that a non-local candidate will be unacceptable to us…A group of 45 party leaders and activists from Kathua segment met BJP incharge Avinash Rai Khanna at Hoshiarpur and told him in clear terms that don't give mandate to a candidate who doesn't belong to Kathua constituency," he said.
"But despite our requests, the party preferred Rajiv Jasrotia over local Kathua leaders… Party has surrendered before Jasrotia which is nothing but a crude joke with the dedicated workers from Kathua who toiled hard to strengthen party's base in this segment…It was same Jasrotia who was once part of Panthers Party and who torched BJP flags in Ghagwal…Our opposition against an outsider is a genuine grievance which state BJP leadership has failed to address so far…We will stick to our stand of contesting polls for which a name of joint candidate from our will be announced in a day or two," he added. |
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