Kripal Parmar quits as Himachal BJP vice-president

BJP leader from Kangra alleges dictatorship in Himachal unit, says senior leaders being humiliated as nobody listens to their grievances whether it’s the chief minister or state party president

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Himachal suffered a setback on Tuesday on the eve of its state executive meet when its vice-president and former Rajya Sabha member Kripal Parmar quit the post.

Himachal Pradesh BJP leader Kripal Parmar on Tuesday quit as the state party vice-president, alleging dictatorship in the unit. (HT file photo)

“I Kripal Parmar, vice-president, Himachal BJP, am sending my resignation from the party post. Kindly accept it. I will explain the reason in separate letters,” he posted on Facebook in a letter addressed to state party president Suresh Kashyap.

Parmar was denied the BJP ticket for the Fatehpur assembly byelection in October.

The BJP had fielded Baldev Thakur from Fatehpur, replacing Parmar, who was the party candidate in the 2017 assembly elections.

Though he did not contest as an independent after chief minister Jai Ram Thakur persuaded him, but he stayed away from the campaigning.

The BJP executive meet, starting on Wednesday, will outline the reason for its defeat in the byelections from Mandi parliamentary constituency and Arki, Fatehpur and Jubbal-Kotkhai.

Dictatorship in party: Parmar on BJP

Parmar was posting cryptic posts on his Facebook page for quite some time, an indication that he may take a major step. “Meri awaj kisi shor mei doob gayi; meri khamoshi door tak sunai degi (My voice was drowned in the din but my silence will be heard far away,” he posted on Monday.

When contacted, he said there was dictatorship in the party. “Senior leaders are being humiliated. Nobody listens to our grievances whether it is the chief minister, state party president or general secretary (organisation). I also took up some issues with the core committee but was ignored. It is better to quit from the party post and work as a worker,” said Parmar, clarifying that he was not leaving the party.

The party and the chief minister are yet to respond to his resignation.

Parmar was the Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh from 2000-06.