Former MLA Mool Raj’s son stakes claim to Congress ticket in Dharamshala byelection
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Strap: Rajneesh Padhal says party must be wary of turncoats, no ‘parachute’ nominee should be fielded either
The Newz Radar
DHARAMSHALA: A local Congress leader has demanded that the party high command should not field any turncoat or a parachute candidate for the June 1 byelection to the Dharamshala Assembly seat and instead opt for a loyal nominee who had worked at the grassroots.
Staking his claim to the ticket, Rajneesh Padhal, son of former Congress district general secretary Mool Raj Padhal who also remained the Dharamshala MLA in 1985, said he had served the party on various posts for several years.
Talking to the media here, Rajneesh said the tactics used by the BJP against the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government would ultimately harm the saffron party only. He said Chief Minister Sukhu had played an important role in the state’s development, particularly in the aftermath of the 2023 rain disaster.
Rajneesh said he had the support of the representatives of several panchayats of Dharamshala seat, many of whom were present at the press conference. He demanded that the high command must now field only such leader who was connected to the ground. He said the Congress should be wary of leaders who could defect, hinting at the possibility of the party fielding any of the BJP rebels who were opposed to the ticket being given to former Congress MLA Sudhir Sharma.
“The Congress workers working on the ground should get a chance. No parachute leader should be fielded so that the present situation doesn’t recur,” he said. Sudhir was two-term MLA from Baijnath before he was given the ticket from Dharamshala in 2012 when his previous constituency was reserved during the delimitation process.
Rajneesh said that the Congress high command should watch out against leaders like Sudhir. He also listed a few other local leaders who had spent their life in the Congress and any of them could be chosen as the candidate. Targeting Sudhir, he said all supported him but he kept his doors closed to the public. “Now, he has joined the BJP. But no one from the Congress has joined him. He is bound to lose,” added Rajneesh.
He said that everyone supported the former MLA, but he has kept his doors closed to the public. The son of the former MLA said that only one former Congress MLA has joined another party, while other officials are standing with the Congress.
