Lucknow, March 25 (IANS) Two senior BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh have revolted after being denied ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls. Anger is simmering among some other veterans too but they are silent for now.
Ram Vilas Vedanti, a seer and party MP in 1996-97 and 1998-99, Tuesday said he had given a 48-hour deadline to the national leadership to revoke the candidature of Lallu Singh in Faizabad and field him instead.
The Faizabad parliamentary seat includes Ayodhya, where the BJP and its allied groups hope to build a grand temple for Hindu god Rama at the site of the demolished Babri mosque.
"I have the blessings of the (Hindu) saints and I will take a final decision after two days on whether to contest as an independent or not," Vedanti told IANS.
He said he was not against BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and alleged that some in the "saffron fold" were conspiring to prevent the Gujarat chief minister from making it to the top post.
Swamy Chinmayanand, another BJP leader and a former union minister of state in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, is also upset after being sidelined in the party.
A former MP from Jaunpur, he wanted to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha election too. But the Bharatiya Janata Party refused to oblige him.
Chinmayanand too has served a two-day deadline to BJP president Rajnath Singh. He said that in case he was not fielded in Jaunpur, he will contest as an independent.
Both underlined that if they win as independents, they will support Modi as the prime minister.
Outgoing Lucknow MP and former Uttar Pradesh urban development minister Lalji Tandon, who wanted to contest from Lucknow again, has been forced to give way to party president Rajnath Singh, now the BJP candidate in the city.
A confidant of Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was prime minister, Tandon protested initially but fell in line soon and is now canvassing for Rajnath Singh.
Veterans like Surya Pratap Shahi, Om Prakash Singh and Kesharinath Tripathi have also been sidelined.
While Surya Pratap Shahi, the state party president in the 2012 assembly polls, sought ticket for himself from Deoria, Lucknow legislator Kalraj Mishra has been picked for the seat.
He was in tears when the announcement was made.
Om Prakash Singh, a powerful OBC face of the party in the 90's, had pitched for a ticket for his son Anurag Singh from Mirzapur. But his plea was not accepted.
Instead, Apna Dal, a BJP ally, has been allowed to field Anupriya Patel as the Apna Dal-BJP candidate.
Kesharinath Tripathi, a former speaker in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, has also been edged out.
He wanted ticket for himself from Allahabad. But the party chose former mayor Shyama Charan Gupta, a Samajwadi Party leader who has joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
T20 World Cup: India became the second country to make this record after England; also won the eighth consecutive match in T20
The winning streak of the Indian team continues in the T20 World Cup 2024. Team India defeated Afghanistan by 47 runs on Thursday. This was Team India's fourth win in this edition. On Thursday,
Big blow to the common man: Wholesale inflation rose to 14.55 percent in March, the government gave a big reason
After the retail inflation, now the people of the country have suffered a setback on the wholesale inflation front. In March, wholesale inflation reached the level of 14.55 percent. It is worth noting
Congress complains to poll panel against BJP
New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS) The Congress Friday complained to the Election Commission against BJP, alleging that its leader and union minister Arun Jaitley had campaigned for party's chief ministerial
2-time champion West Indies out of the World Cup: Ireland defeated; Both bat and luck did not get along
The biggest upset happened on Friday in the T20 World Cup 2022. Two-time world champion West Indies crashed out of the tournament in the qualifying round itself. Ireland defeated the world champion
Rahul Gandhi: 'Call us whatever you want, but we are INDIA', Rahul Gandhi retorts on PM Modi's statement
PM Modi attacked the name of the alliance of opposition parties as 'INDIA'. He said that there is India in the East India Company and there is an Indian in the Indian Mujahideen. What happens if you
Australia have edge over India: Josh Hazlewood
Sydney, March 21 (IANS) Pacer Josh Hazlewood on Saturday said their unbeaten record against India this Australian summer means they 'have the wood' over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side ahead of their
Aamir Khan: All of Aamir's arrogance vanished in one meeting, he even accepted the censor board's cuts, added PM Modi's name
Producer-actor Aamir Khan has not only accepted all the cuts suggested by the censor board in his new film 'Sitare Zameen Par' for release in India this Friday, but with these cuts, the film has also
Vicky Kaushal became an actor from an engineer, read some unheard things on his birthday
New Delhi: Vicky Kaushal, who impressed everyone with his acting in Bollywood, is celebrating his birthday today i.e. on May 16. Vicky is the son of Bollywood's famous action director Sham Kaushal.
America's oil game is behind Russia and Ukraine, know what is the whole matter and expert's opinion on it
The dispute that broke out between Russia and Ukraine, where Crimea has been formed on one side and NATO has also been formed on the other side. Apart from this, a third reason is the supply of gas
No charges against Al-Amin from ACSU: BCB president
Dhaka, Feb 25 (IANS) Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Wednesday said the anti-corruption unit of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has brought in no corruption charges
