On Friday evening, during Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s address to the party workers in Itkhori, Jharkhand, voices of protest started rising within the BJP against the sitting party MP from Chatra parliamentary seat.
During Rajnath Singh’s meeting at Itkhori in Chatra, about 160 km from the capital Ranchi, BJP party workers were seen raising slogans against Sunil Singh, a two-time MP from Chatra.
Slogans like ‘Sunil Singh go back, we don’t want such a useless MP’ were raised.
A scuffle also broke out between Sunil Singh’s supporters and BJP workers, which can be seen in a video released by a local news portal.
Incidentally, BJP has not announced any candidate for Chatra constituency. It has so far announced candidates for 11 of the 14 parliamentary seats in Jharkhand.
An attempt was made to contact Sunil Singh on his mobile number but no response could be received. However, his supporters alleged that it was a conspiracy hatched by the opponents of the sitting MP.
“Other people in the race for the MP candidate had organized this protest to tarnish his image in front of the central leadership of the party,” said a supporter on the condition of anonymity.
However, state level leaders of the BJP admitted that the local reaction to the sitting MP is not satisfactory.
“Before announcing a ticket to a candidate, the BJP organization prepares report cards at multiple levels, including feedback from RSS and feedback taken from the public on the party’s mobile application. The MP’s two-term tenure is also being investigated. Reports of the visit of the party’s state election committee and ministers have also been taken.
“There is a delay in announcing the name of Chatra, which is one of the safest seats,” he said.
The BJP signals that something is wrong,” admitted a Ranchi-based BJP central committee leader on condition of anonymity.
BJP state spokesperson Pratul Sahdev admitted to watching the protests on news channels, but refrained from issuing any comment.
In Chatra, Rajnath said, “Based on the development work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India will become a ‘Vishwaguru’ under his leadership and it is God’s will that he remains the Prime Minister not only for the third time but also for the fourth time.”
