Shimla: Ahead of important Core Group and State BJP Executive meetings, a senior BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP has resigned from the post of Vice-President of the state unit.
Kripal Parmar, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2017 assembly election and in recently concluded assembly by-elections, had accused the state party unit of working in a ‘dictatorial’ attitude and ignoring senior leaders.
He was peeved over the allotment of ticket to Baldev Thakur. Thakur had contested the 2017 assembly election as an independent candidate.
Parmar has already echoed his dissent over the state party working and said that senior party leaders like him were feeling humiliated in the present set-up. He had also raised his concern with party leadership but instead of paying heed to his concern they remain mute spectators, Parmar rued. He said
“I felt suffocated in the party set up and as such, I felt it was best to resign.”
Former Rajya Sabha MP stated that he would prefer to remain a simple party worker rather than taking any party post under the present party set-up.
The resignation comes at a very inopportune time, just a day before the significant Core Group and State BJP Executive meeting.
The Party executive meeting is to be held on November 24-26, while the Legislature Party is to meet on November 26.
In the recently concluded by-elections, BJP, despite being in power in the state and centre, lost all three assembly constituencies and Mandi parliamentary constituency. In Jubbal-Kotkhai, where the party had ignored the most favoured choice Chetan Singh Bragta and allotted a ticket to Neelam Seraik. BJP candidate had received just 2,644 votes (lowest till date) while Chetan polled 23,662 votes. Congress won the seat comfortably with a margin of 6,293 votes.
In the recently concluded by-elections, BJP vote share has dropped drastically. In Mandi parliamentary by-election, BJP had won the 2019 election – BJP polled record 6,47,189 votes and won the election with a thumping margin of 4,05,459 votes, while in 2021 by-elections BJP candidate could get 3,56,884 votes.
