With Chandigarh set to go to polls two months from now, the BJP city president Sanjay Tandon on Tuesday made a pitch for a local candidate to “understand the pulse of the city”.
However, amid a strong buzz that Tandon is aggressively lobbying to replace the party’s sitting MP Kirron Kher - who was termed a parachute candidate by many on being fielded in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections - he said: “Why worry about something that isn’t in my control?”
“It’s about offering your service to the party in whichever capacity. Once the decision is announced, all party workers will work together and support the candidate,” said Tandon in a one-on-one with HT.
When asked about about Kher’s regular public meetings, including the recently launched ‘Coffee with Kirron’, Tandon said, “I don’t know about it. The district president or ward president haven’t been informed about any of these meetings.”
In a veiled criticism of the MP, he said in his long tenure there had never been a time when the district president, ward president or area councillor were not aware of party events.
However, on Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s recent comments against Kher, Tandon said they were “obnoxious like most of his other statements”. In the same breath, he added it was “sweet of Gul Panag” to come to Kher’s rescue, but it all seemed “almost pre-planned”.
{{/usCountry}}However, on Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s recent comments against Kher, Tandon said they were “obnoxious like most of his other statements”. In the same breath, he added it was “sweet of Gul Panag” to come to Kher’s rescue, but it all seemed “almost pre-planned”.
{{/usCountry}}‘Dhawan like a general without army’
Meanwhile, commenting on Harmohan Dhawan, the AAP candidate from Chandigarh and his long-time friend who was an active BJP campaigner in the previous elections, Tandon said: “I feel it was time for him to gracefully retire. Leaving a national party and then joining one that is only active in Delhi wasn’t right.”
Calling Dhawan a general without an army, Tandon said some of his supporters continue to be in the BJP.
On a politician’s duty, Tandon said it’s most important to connect with the people, sit, engage and eat with them and most importantly remember them, rather than “doing drama” every now and then. He said he owed these principles to his late father, Balramji Dass Tandon.
All set for the elections, the BJP chief said he no longer greets fellow party members with a “namaste”, but with “Phir ek baar, Modi sarkaar”.