The central leadership of the BJP has intervened and held out on symbol distribution for hours after MPs and state leaders registered their protest over ticket distribution to candidates contesting the elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
National general secretary BL Santhosh had to intervene whereas national party president JP Nadda called Delhi incharge Baijayant Jay Panda to explain the unrest among MPs. There were murmurs of unrest soon after tickets for the upcoming MCD polls were finalised.
“We had to wait for four hours before the distribution of tickets started. The symbol distribution was kept on hold by the party for hours,” a candidate running for the post of councillor said.
According to sources, the central leadership intervened later and made an effort to settle the issue. The party leaders roughed it out in a 15-hour long meeting on November 10, where many were at loggerheads over the final list of candidates for councillors in their area.
Sources said the MPs clashed with the leaders of their area when they pitched their own candidates in the meeting. Senior leaders expressed displeasure over the rejection of candidates proposed by them to the party high command, sources added.
Local MPs were not taken into confidence when the candidates from their areas were being finalised, sources said. “Despite holding a 15-hour consultation with the core group, including past presidents, MPs and organisational post holders, the names proposed by them were not approved by the BJP’s Delhi incharge Baijayant Jay Panda as he had his own surveys. These surveys were refuted by senior leaders on the basis of their information and experience,” they added.
One of the senior leaders called the situation unprecedented as local MPs had always been taken into confidence regarding the final list. “In the last 15 years, this is the first time that only three names were taken from us and we were not consulted while the list of candidates was finalised,” a source said.
The BJP is battling anti-incumbency after ruling the civic body for 15 years. The party has changed candidates on majority of the seats. Only 41 sitting councillors have got the ticket while 52 former councillors are getting a chance to contest again.
The MCD polls are scheduled to be held on December 4 and the results will be declared on December 7.
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