scorecardresearch
Friday, March 29, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomePoliticsIn Himachal's Fatehpur, BJP rebel Kripal Parmar, asked by Modi to 'sit...

In Himachal’s Fatehpur, BJP rebel Kripal Parmar, asked by Modi to ‘sit out’, loses to Congress

While Congress' Bhawani Singh Pathania won with 33,238 votes, the BJP’s Rakesh Pathania, who came second, got 25,884 votes. In comparison, Parmar got only 2,811 votes.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

New Delhi: BJP rebel turned independent candidate in Himachal’s Fatehpur constituency Kripal Parmar, who had got a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sit out the assembly elections, lost the seat Thursday to the Congress’ Bhawani Singh Pathania.

While Bhawani Singh won 33,238 votes, the BJP’s Rakesh Pathania, who came second, received 25,884 votes. Bhawani Singh is the son of Sujan Singh Pathania, whose death led to the October bypoll last year. Bhawani had also won by his son the bypoll.

Parmar, a former Rajya Sabha MP who resigned as vice-president of the BJP’s Himachal Pradesh unit in November last year, had rebelled against the party when he was denied a ticket from Fatehpur constituency first in a bypoll last year and then in this assembly election. He was among more than 17 rebel candidates who had planned to contest independently after having been denied tickets by the BJP. He received 2,811 votes Thursday.

Parmar came into focus after an audio-video clip of his conversation with PM Modi went viral on social media last month. The PM had been trying to dissuade him from contesting the assembly elections.

Mera tum par poora haq hai. Main kuchh nahin sunoonga…mera Kripal aisa nahi kar sakta (I have full rights over you. I won’t hear anything…my Kripal can’t do this), Modi was heard making an emotional appeal.

Parmar on the other hand was heard alleging Nadda had “humiliated him” for 15 years.

He also told the PM that his call should have come two days sooner, because the last day for withdrawal of nomination was over. Modi sounded miffed as he hung up, saying, “achha bhaiya, achha ji. (Okay brother, okay)”.

BJP spokesperson Mahender Dharmani said the call showed every person from the BJP cared about the election, unlike Congress.

“It shows how every party worker is serious about polls, whether it’s state or panchayat elections. The prime minister himself appealed to rebels, unlike in the Congress where Rahul Gandhi has no time to campaign for the party. A divided Congress is fighting without a leader and a captain,” he told ThePrint.

In an interview last month, Parmar had said, “We have known each other for 25 years. When he (Modi) was in charge of Himachal Pradesh and I was a vice-president, we travelled and stayed together a lot. I have family ties with him. I consider him my god.”


Also read: How woman who vanquished Kamal Haasan in Coimbatore became BJP star campaigner in Himachal


Grievances against BJP

When Parmar had resigned from the position of Himachal BJP vice-president, he had alleged that the party was being “run like a dictatorship”.

He was reportedly upset for not being fielded as a candidate in the Fatehpur bypolls.

In the 2012 assembly elections, the BJP gave a ticket to Baldev Thakur, who lost to Congress veteran Sujan Singh Pathania. Parmar was the BJP candidate in 2017, but lost to Thakur, then an independent candidate, by a slim margin of 1,200 votes. He blamed the party for giving rebel candidate Baldev Thakur a ticket in 2017.

(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)


Also ready: Only 1 channel covered Nadda’s temple run on Himachal poll day. BJP chief can blame himself


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular