Former MP Maheshwar Singh, who threatened to revolt against the BJP, finally agreed and decided to withdraw his nomination from Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu Sadar constituency. He told his supporters that he would not contest the upcoming assembly elections on November 12.
A descendant of the erstwhile Kullu princely state, Singh made his decision only after discussions and several hectic talks with his supporters, including one with national president JP Nadda.
Singh was summoned by the BJP leadership and a helicopter was sent to bring him to Shimla on Thursday. The party was apprehensive about the leader contesting the upcoming assembly elections as an independent and felt that his bid could significantly damage the prospects of its candidates in all the four constituencies of Kullu district, especially Kullu Sadar and Banjar.
Singh was furious after the party withdrew his ticket from Kullu Sadar as a result of failing to persuade his son to take back his son as an independent from the adjacent seat of Banjar against BJP candidate Surendra Shourie.
In a meeting with his supporters, Singh said that he has decided not to contest and will withdraw his nomination. He said Nadda had assured him of “justice”. “Our forefathers have been anti-Congress and we do not have a culture where we defame leaders and challenge the incumbent chief minister,” Singh said. News18,
He said that he was not assured for any party post and he only wanted due recognition and respect. He said he had told Nadda that it would not be good for the party if his supporters were ignored.
“This is my last election but I will continue with the pending development works in the constituency. Even the party leadership has assured me that pending development works in Kullu will be taken up on priority basis. However, his son Hiteshwar Singh is yet to decide whether he will withdraw his nomination papers from the Banjar seat.
The BJP is facing rebellion from its leaders in Kullu district even as state vice-president Ram Singh has filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate from Banjar. Kishori Lal, the sitting MLA from Ani constituency, is also contesting as an independent. Lal was dropped and his ticket was given to Lokendra Kumar, who was the CPI’s candidate in the 2017 elections.
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