Infighting in the BJP came to the fore when Lok Sabha MP Rajiv Bhardwaj and Nurpur MLA Ranbir Singh Nikka in a joint statement on Wednesday stated that a former minister hailing from Kangra district had allegedly sabotaged the victory of BJP-supported candidates in the elections to the Nurpur Municipal Council held on Sunday. They asserted that the BJP-supported candidates couldn’t win the elections due to sabotage by the former minister, resulting in victory of only three out of the nine wards in the Municipal Council. Without naming the former minister they indicated direct interference by Rakesh Pathania, former Nurpur MLA, in the municipal elections and also accused him of hatching a political conspiracy to defeat the BJP-supported candidates in four Zila Parishad (ZP) wards by fielding his supporters against them.
They lamented that the supporters of the former minister were campaigning in the Bhadwar, Bhaleta, Mamooh-Gurchal and Baranda wards carrying posters containing Pathania’s photos, which clearly indicated the violation of the party’s discipline.
Bhardwaj and Nikka said that a conspiracy was hatched against the BJP, which gave Pathania so much respect and appointed him to many high positions, including a Cabinet minister. They added that the news of secret meetings were coming from many parts of the area for defeating the BJP-supported candidates in the upcoming Zila Parishad elections and a detailed report with evidence would be submitted to the party leadership and the disciplinary committee for strict action against Pathania for anti-party activities.
They said that the former minister was campaigning for the BJP-supported candidates in the neighbouring Assembly segment but at the same time, working against them in his own native Assembly segment. They added that the anti-party activities of BJP leaders would be brought to the notice of the party high command.
They said that the BJP-supported candidates were not only fighting elections against the Congress-supported candidates but also against the party rebels. Meanwhile, Pathania was contacted twice on his mobile phone number for his comments but he didn’t respond.
