HP polls | BJP heaves sigh of relief as Maheshwar Singh withdraws nomination

The veteran BJP leader had raised the banner of revolt after the saffron party revoked his candidature after his younger son Hiteshwar Singh decided to contest as an independent candidate

Dharamshala The BJP, which is in damage control mode after disgruntled party leaders filed their papers as independent candidates after being denied a party ticket, heaved a sigh of relief after Maheshwar Singh, former MP and scion of Kullu royal family, agreed to withdraw his nomination on Friday.

The BJP, which is in damage control mode after disgruntled party leaders filed their papers as independent candidates after being denied a party ticket, heaved a sigh of relief after Maheshwar Singh, former MP and scion of Kullu royal family, agreed to withdraw his nomination. (Deepak Sansta / HT)

The development comes a day after BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda rushed to the state capital, Shimla, and held a closed-door meeting with Singh, which was also attended by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, state party chief Suresh Kashyap and organising secretary Pavan Rana.

The veteran BJP leader had raised the banner of revolt after the saffron party revoked his candidature at the last minute after his younger son Hiteshwar Singh decided to contest the election from Banjar as an independent candidate. Instead, the party fielded school lecturer Narottam Thakur from Kullu just before the nomination process closed on October 25.

Maheshwar Singh discussed the matter with his supporters in Kullu before announcing his decision to not fight the election as an independent candidate. “I will follow the party’s instructions and campaign for the BJP candidate. I hope the BJP is successful,” he said.

On his decision to withdraw his nomination, Singh, who entered the political arena in 1977 as Jan Sangh candidate from Banjar constituency, said, “No doubt, a major injustice was done with me. However, I thank my supporters and workers who stood by me and forced the party high command to listen. This would have been my last election as I wanted to give something to my people, but it is all in the past now.”

“Nadda has assured me that no injustice will be done with any party worker from now onwards,” he added.

The BJP may have prevailed in Kullu, but it still has to deal with rebel candidates in other segments, who may frustrate the party’s aim to ensure Mission Repeat in the hill state.