Talks on to curb rebellion in HP BJP: Ex-CM Jai Ram

Shimla: Anger among leaders during allocation of tickets is normal in elections and the BJP is trying to resolve the matter through talks, said former chief minister and leader of the opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday.

Referring to the rebellion in the BJP after the party high command gave ticket to six Congress rebels who had voted in favour of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections last month and joined the BJP on March 23, he said the party has interacted with several party workers and leaders to find a solution to the issue.

People do get angry in times of elections and talks are on, he told media persons in Kullu, claiming that the matter would be resolved soon. “We are trying to convey our side to them. We are trying to contact them and ask them to rethink their decision,” he said.

Former Himachal Pradesh minister and BJP leader from Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency, Ram Lal Markanda, had on Tuesday quit the party to protest the fielding of Congress rebel Ravi Thakur who had defeated him on the seat in the last assembly election.

The BJP had on Tuesday named Congress rebels Ravi Thakur from Lahaul and Spiti, Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Chetanya Sharma from Gagret and Devinder Kumar Bhutto from Kutlehar.

All office-bearers of the BJP’s Lahaul and Spiti block unit also resigned against the party’s decision and pledged support to Markanda, saying they will support him in the byelection. Markanada was the agriculture and tribal development minister during the previous BJP government led by Jai Ram Thakur.