Days after two sitting MLAs of the Congress joined the BJP in the run-up to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election due later this year, the ruling BJP has not ruled out more Congress legislators joining the party in the State.
Even as a section of BJP cadres expressed their displeasure over the developments in a few Assembly constituencies, especially where Congress MLAs were recently admitted into the party’s fold, the party leadership asserted that the feeling of “insecurity” among party workers is natural, but is overcome in due course given the cadres’ commitment to the party’s ideology.
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Senior BJP leader and spokesperson Randhir Sharma on Thursday said the party has a strong base in Himachal Pradesh and therefore, several members deliberate over contesting elections. “Now, if someone from outside joins the party, then it’s natural that there would be a feeling of insecurity, and many times we see resistance as well, but because our cadre has a commitment towards the party’s ideology, in due course of time, the opposition or the resistance gets over,” he said.
Last month, following the induction of former Congress MLAs Pawan Kajal and Lakhwinder Rana in the Kangra Assembly constituency, a section of BJP members resisted Mr. Kajal’s entry into the party. Similarly, former Nalagarh BJP MLA K.L. Thakur publicly opposed Mr. Rana’s entry into the party, but later said he would support the party’s chosen candidate. “Initially, Mr. K.L. Thakur from Nalagarh expressed his displeasure after Mr. Rana’s entry, but later he has categorically stated that he would support any candidates that the party would decide,” Mr. Sharma told The Hindu.
Mr. Sharma said the joining of two sitting Congress MLAs to the BJP is a clear indication that BJP is all set to retain power after the upcoming Assembly poll. “Any MLA quits the party only if he or she is confident that their own party would not win the election. The Congress is a sinking ship. There are strong possibilities that a few more Congress MLAs could join the BJP ahead of the poll,” he said.
As the BJP’s mass contact programme continues across the State in an attempt to mobilise its cadres and garner people’s support, the party leadership has dismissed any “anti-incumbency” factor working against the BJP government, even though there’s a sense that “a few MLAs were facing anti-incumbency”, with legislators and cadre are working “at full strength on the ground in the constituencies” to regain popularity.
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BJP’s State in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna said the party is seeking votes on its performance and development works during its tenure and would again form the next government. “There’s no anti-incumbency against the government or the party. It [anti-incumbency] may have been there against a few MLAs at the local level, but our cadre and leaders have tamed it by consistently meeting the masses. The priority of the party is to win the election, even it means taking tough decisions on selecting candidates,” he said.
The election for the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly is due later this year. In the 2017 Assembly polls, the BJP won 44 seats while the Congress secured 21 seats, with three seats going to others.
