The BJP’s MLA Umesh Aggarwal’s wife Anita Aggarwal withdrew her candidature for the Gurgaon assembly constituency on Monday, following discussions with senior leaders and prominent members of his community, who reportedly convinced him not to go against the party line. Aggarwal, in a statement, said that he had a detailed discussion with the Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar as well, after which they decided to take back the nomination filed by his wife.
“He had a meeting with senior party leaders, community members, and the chief minister, and decided to withdraw his wife’s candidature in the interest of the party,” a spokesperson for Aggarwal said. He has, however, maintained that hundreds of his supporters and BJP functionaries aligned with him wanted his wife to contest the poll as an independent candidate.
Aggarwal had decided to field his wife after the BJP denied him a party ticket despite winning the 2014 elections by a record margin of 84,000 votes. BJP insiders said that his opposition to Khattar in the initial years of the BJP government was the reason he was not given the mandate in 2019.
The withdrawal of Anita’s nomination is likely to help the BJP, as it would be able to consolidate its rank and file, which are, according to experts, slightly in disarray, as both sitting MLAs from Badshahpur and Gurgaon have been denied tickets. “There is some disquiet among party workers due to this decision, but finally it seems they have got over the shock, and are rallying around those who got the mandate,” a BJP leader, who spoke to HT on the condition of anonymity, said
{{/usCountry}}The withdrawal of Anita’s nomination is likely to help the BJP, as it would be able to consolidate its rank and file, which are, according to experts, slightly in disarray, as both sitting MLAs from Badshahpur and Gurgaon have been denied tickets. “There is some disquiet among party workers due to this decision, but finally it seems they have got over the shock, and are rallying around those who got the mandate,” a BJP leader, who spoke to HT on the condition of anonymity, said
{{/usCountry}}In a related development, Seema Pahuja, a Congress leader, who had decided to contest the election as an independent candidate, also withdrew her candidature on Monday.
With the last day to withdraw candidature being Monday, the district election office said that currently there are 54 candidates in the fray in the four constituencies of Gurugram district. In Pataudi, the number of candidates is 11, in Badshahpur, 15 candidates are in the fray, in Gurgaon, 16 candidates, and in Sohna, the number is 12.