Chandigarh, Apr 20 (PTI) Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Saturday reached out to party leader Vijay Sampla, who is apparently upset after he was denied the party ticket from the Hoshiarpur (reserve) Lok Sabha constituency.
Jakhar along with party leaders Harjit Singh Grewal and Vineet Joshi met Sampla at his residence in Hoshiarpur.
Sampla, the former Union minister, was apparently expecting the party ticket from Hoshiarpur but the BJP fielded Anita Som Parkash, the wife of sitting MP and Union Minister Som Parkash, from the constituency.
After meeting him, Jakhar said though Sampla wanted the party ticket, he kept aside his “emotions” while considering the party’s discipline. Jakhar said he also listened to Sampla’s supporters.
“Today, the issue is of the ideology and making Narendra Modi the prime minister for the third time,” Jakhar, however, added.
He further said it is the responsibility of the party to clear whatever “doubts” Sampla has, adding that he came here with the concurrence of the party high command.
Another party leader Harjit Grewal said Sampla is a prominent Dalit leader.
To a question whether Sampla was being ignored, Grewal said he was not ignored and the party will give him some responsibility.
Asked whether Sampla will support the party candidate in the elections, Grewal said he will work for ‘lotus’ – the party’s election symbol.
After Sampla was denied the ticket, he had removed ‘Modi Ka Parivaar’ tagline from his social media profile.
“Ek raasta band hota hai to bhagwan aur kai raaste khol deta hai. Mere liye bhi bhagwan ne koi raasta zaroor nirdharit kiya hoga. (If one path closes, God opens many paths. God must have decided a path for me too),” he had posted on X.
Sampla, a Dalit leader, successfully contested from the Hoshiarpur seat in 2014. He had also been the minister of state for social justice and empowerment. In 2019, the BJP had fielded Som Parkash from the seat.
Sampla headed the National Commission for Scheduled Castes from 2021 to 2023.
Polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will take place on June 1. PTI CHS MNK MNK
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