Rebel Independents Are Becoming a Challenge for BJP in Bhilwara

BHILWARA। A total of 277 candidates are contesting elections in 70 wards of Bhilwara Municipal Corporation. Several senior and influential BJP workers, upset over not getting tickets, are contesting as independents, making the path difficult for BJP.

After withdrawals, the biggest challenge for BJP is not Congress but its own workers who have emerged as rebels.

After 85 independents withdrew their nominations in the 70 wards of the Municipal Corporation, a total of 277 candidates remain in the fray. About 10 to 15 wards have senior and influential BJP workers contesting as independents due to not getting tickets. This is making the path difficult for official BJP candidates.

In many wards, the Congress candidate is weak or absent, yet due to rebels, the contest has become triangular and multi-cornered. This raises concerns about erosion in BJP’s traditional vote bank.

Former board councilors Prashant Trivedi, Indu Bansal, Santosh Kanwar, Indu Tak, and Laddevi are contesting. Former councilor Shanti Lal Dad and wife of Naresh Jat are also contesting this time.

With Congress absent, seats were considered easy for BJP, but independent Rajendra Samdani has made the contest interesting. In Ward 31, BJP has fielded Saurabh Tanwar, while Congress has given the ticket to the daughter-in-law of former BJP leader Ramesh Sabnani.

In Ward 32, BJP replaced sitting councilor Om Parashar’s wife Suman with Hemraj Acharya as the candidate. In Ward 33, four contenders withdrew their nominations in support of BJP candidate Neha Joshi, but Pawan Kumar remains an independent candidate.

In Ward 35, local workers protested against BJP candidate Khushbu Shukla, calling her an outsider. BJP got some relief as sitting councilor Kailash Mundra withdrew his nomination.

In Ward 39, BJP has fielded Yashvardhan Sen, but there is dissatisfaction over him being called an outsider candidate and the use of OBC cards. Mukesh Kabra and Kiran Mantri from the Maheshwari community are independents, while Lakhan Soni is also in the fray.

Former BJP councilors Manju Chechani and Kalpana Tiwari’s influence is making this ward challenging. In Ward 42, the contest has changed from triangular to multi-cornered. BJP has fielded young ABVP-affiliated Raunak Hingad. Congress has fielded Leela, wife of former chairman Om Naranival, while Sanjay Kankaria of the Jain community and Neerav Rathi of the Maheshwari community are also independents.

Ward 50 has the highest number of candidates, nine, making it the most interesting contest. There will be direct contests in 10 wards of the Municipal Corporation, including wards 2, 13, 17, 29, 31, 36, 38, 43, 44, and 54.

Triangular contests will be seen in 18 wards. In Ward 60, BJP’s Suman Ojha and Congress’s Kuldeep Khatik face each other. Several candidates withdrew nominations here, but caste equations have made the contest interesting.

In Ward 61, BJP’s Purnima Jain faces independent Asha Dad, wife of sitting councilor Shantilal Dad. Jain voters in the RC Vyas area are considered a strong BJP base, so rebels may dent BJP votes.

In Ward 62, Gautam Sharma, supporter of MP Damodar Agrawal, is the BJP candidate, while Congress has fielded former councilor Goodwin Masih. Independent Sunil Jain wanted to withdraw but remained in the fray due to time constraints. Ankit Sharma is also contesting as an independent, making the contest more complex.

With the consent of BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary, dedicated and hardworking workers have been given important responsibilities in the Gorakhpur regional team. President Vinod Rai said that former regional secretary Sunil Gupta has been assigned the responsibility of regional committee member. Dhruv Srivastava, who was made co-media in-charge during Sahjanand Rai’s tenure as regional president, has been made regional minister.

Last time, the executive committee had 32 members including the president; this time it has increased to 40. Seven posts are yet to be announced, including treasurer, co-treasurer, office minister, co-office in-charge, media in-charge, and co-media in-charge.