The Bharatiya Janata Party’s defeat in the urban local bodies (ULB) elections in Kangra has triggered an intense internal power struggle, with Nurpur emerging as the focal point of a widening factional battle within the party. The BJP’s loss of key urban strongholds to the Congress in the May 17 civic polls has not only embarrassed the party politically but also exposed sharp divisions among its senior leadership at a crucial juncture ahead of the Panchayati Raj elections and preparations for the 2027 Assembly poll.
The controversy escalated after Kangra MP Rajeev Bhardwaj and senior BJP leader Ranbir Singh Nikka publicly alleged that influential leaders within the party had actively sabotaged official BJP-backed candidates. Though neither initially named anyone directly, the accusations were widely interpreted as being aimed at former forest minister Rakesh Pathania.
Addressing the media recently, Bhardwaj alleged that certain leaders entrusted with “massive responsibilities” secretly worked against the party during the municipal elections. According to him, these individuals not only discouraged BJP supporters from voting for official candidates but also allegedly campaigned indirectly for Congress-backed nominees through personal outreach and behind-the-scenes coordination.
Describing the episode as “internal sabotage” and “backstabbing from within”, Bhardwaj warned that the matter would be taken seriously by the party high command. He said a disciplinary committee had already been constituted to investigate the issue and stressed that contesting or supporting candidates against the party line amounted to the “greatest sin” in politics. He further hinted that the rebellion was not confined to the municipal polls and had begun influencing the ongoing Zila Parishad and Panchayati Raj elections as well.
The infighting became more public when Nikka openly accused “a former minister and his son” of engineering rebel campaigns in Nurpur while pretending loyalty to the party. Referring specifically to the Nurpur Municipal Council elections, he claimed that a BJP-supported candidate lost by just one vote because of overnight “secret operations” allegedly orchestrated by dissident elements within the party.
Nikka also alleged that celebrations were held after BJP-backed candidates were defeated, an act he said the people of Nurpur “would not forgive”. In a sharp attack, he accused Pathania of following a “double-standard policy” by campaigning for BJP nominees in Fatehpur while simultaneously undermining the party in Nurpur. He further suggested that the rebellion was rooted in political insecurity and future dynastic ambitions. Pathania, however, could not be contacted for his response.
Factional tensions have also surfaced in Dehra, another traditional BJP bastion that slipped into Congress hands amid an emerging rivalry between former minister Ramesh Dhawala and former MLA Hoshyar Singh. Dhawala has openly blamed the BJP leadership for encouraging factionalism that ultimately weakened the party electorally.
The unusually public nature of the accusations has dented the BJP’s image as a tightly disciplined organisation and underlined growing internal contradictions within the party in Kangra at a politically sensitive time.
Meanwhile, Rakesh Pathania rejected all allegations and said attempts were being made to unfairly portray him as the “villain” behind the party’s defeat. Addressing a press conference, Pathania said he had been a dedicated BJP worker since 1996 and had never indulged in factional politics. He accused Kangra MP Rajiv Bhardwaj and local leaders of trying to shift the blame for electoral setbacks onto him after suffering a “crushing defeat”.
Pathania claimed all candidate-related issues had been discussed and settled in earlier organisational meetings and asserted that he stayed away from the campaign after being sidelined by local leadership.
Highlighting his political and developmental contributions to Nurpur, he questioned what current leaders had achieved in the past four years. He also accused some BJP leaders of selectively invoking party discipline only after facing public rejection in the civic polls.
