BJP cracks whip on Himachal rebels, expels Ramlal Markanda, Rakesh Chaudhary for 6 years
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TNR Desk
In a significant move ahead of the byelections to six Assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh, being held concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has initiated strict disciplinary action against dissenting leaders.
Ramlal Markanda, a former BJP MLA and cabinet minister from Lahaul-Spiti, and Rakesh Chaudhary, the BJP candidate from Dharamshala in the 2022 elections, have been expelled from the party for six years.
The decision was taken after both leaders filed their nominations as independent candidates, opposing the official BJP candidates. All efforts to convince the duo to withdraw their nomination proved futile. The disciplinary action was confirmed by BJP state president Rajiv Bindal.
Markanda’s discontent stemmed from the BJP’s decision to nominate Ravi Thakur, a recent defector from Congress, as its candidate for the Lahaul-Spiti byelection. In response, Markanda resigned from the BJP and entered the race as an independent. From the Congress, Anuradha Rana is the candidate for Lahaul-Spiti.
In Dharamshala, the BJP’s selection of Sudhir Sharma, another former Congress MLA, as their candidate led to Rakesh Chaudhary’s defection. Chaudhary has also filed nomination as an independent, while the Congress has fielded Devendra Jaggi. These developments set the stage for a potentially fierce triangular contest in both the Lahaul-Spiti and Dharamshala seats, with candidates from BJP, Congress, and independents vying for victory.
