The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday heaved a sigh of relief after its four leaders in Mahendragarh and Rewari districts of Ahirwal withdrew their nomination papers. All of them were upset with the party for not being fielded in elections.
Those who withdrew nominations included former Deputy Vidhan Sabha Speaker Santosh Yadav from Ateli, BJP Mahila Morcha district chief Bharti Saini from Narnaul, former Mahendragarh BJP district chief Shiv Kumar Mehta from Narnaul and former BJP Kisan Morcha state general secretary Rampal Yadav from Kosli (Rewari). Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had visited the area on Sunday to woo the rebels. He held a meeting with Bharti in Narnaul town and convinced her to withdraw her nomination.
The CM also met BJP veteran Ram Bilas Sharma at his residence. However, Sharma had already announced to respect the party’s decision of fielding its former district chief Kanwar Singh Yadav in his place from Mahendragarh. “Saini is not only a CM, but also the top leader of my community hence I today withdrew my nominations in his respect,” said Bharti.
Santosh Yadav was one of the strong aspirants for the BJP ticket from Ateli where the party has fielded Arti Singh Rao, daughter of Minister Rao Inderjit Singh. Enraged by the decision, Santosh not only resigned from the party, but also filed papers as an Independent from there. “I have withdrawn my nomination on my own. However, senior BJP leaders also contacted me for it,” Santosh said.
Similarly, Shiv Kumar Mehta was vying for the BJP ticket from Narnaul. He resigned from the post of member of the state executive immediately after the party announced to field sitting MLA Om Prakash Yadav. “I have withdrawn my nomination on behalf of the people of the Narnaul Assembly constituency. I will decide on my role in the elections after discussing it with my supporters,” said Mehta. In Rewari, BJP rebel Rampal Yadav withdrew his nomination from Kosli where the saffron party has fielded Anil Dahina, a loyalist of Minister Rao Inderjit Singh.
