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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Getting BJP ticket from Hoshiarpur again not easy for Vijay Sampla
In 2014 general elections, Sampla sprung a surprise by defeating Congress candidate Mohinder Singh Kaypee by a margin of over 13,582 votes. In 2015, he was made Union minister of state.
Getting re-nominated from the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seat (reserved) has become a tough task for BJP’s Dalit face and Union minister for social justice and empowerment Vijay Sampla, with the party’s central election committee (CEC) not “fully convinced” about his candidature, according to party leaders familiar with the developments.
They said a discussion on Punjab candidates was held in the CEC meeting held on late Friday evening in which the state representatives also refrained from backing Sampla’s candidature fully. Internal surveys of the party were also cited in this regard by a senior member of the CEC in the meeting.
The meeting was chaired by BJP national president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP in-charge of Punjab affairs Prabhat Jha, Lok Sabha election in-charge Captain Abhimanyu, state BJP chief Shwait Malik and state organisation secretary Dinesh Sharma were also present in the meeting.
The party leaders said Phagwara MLA Som Parkash’s name was also discussed in the CEC for the Hoshiarpur seat.
Parkash, a former IAS officer who had taken premature retirement to join the BJP, had contested from the Hoshiarpur seat in 2009 and had lost it by a wafer-thin margin of 366 votes.
The Phagwara MLA is also considered close to the rank and file of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the alliance partner of the BJP in Punjab.
An Akali Dal leader also revealed that the senior party leadership has given an “adverse” feedback over Sampla’s re-nomination from the seat.
In 2014 general elections, Sampla sprung a surprise by defeating Congress candidate Mohinder Singh Kaypee by a margin of over 13,582 votes. In 2015, he was made Union minister of state.
Ahead of 2017 assembly polls in Punjab, Sampla, who belongs to the powerful Ravidassia community of Doaba, was also elevated to the post of the state BJP chief. He headed the state party unit till Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik replaced him in 2018.
Though Sampla can claim the credit for getting civilian flights started from the Adampur airforce station, a long pending demand of the Doaba region, many in the SAD-BJP alliance claim that the “anti-incumbency” against him is high.
Sampla, however, is confident of getting the ticket and has started his campaign in the constituency, beginning from Bholath assembly segment last week.
With his opponents building pressure on the high command to scuttle his ticket, he has reportedly been in the national capital for the past couple of days.
Despite HT repeated attempts, Sampla was not available for his comments.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leaders revealed that names of Bollywood actress Poonam Dhillon and Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri were discussed for Amritsar constituency. Late Gurdaspur MP Vinod Khanna’s wife remains the frontrunner from Gurdaspur.
State BJP chief Shwait Malik said the party high command has held the first round of discussions and there is a long process to be followed before finalisation of party tickets.
“Since nominations will start in Punjab from April 21, the focus of the party is on the states where elections are scheduled in the earlier phases. I think the party will take a few days to finalise the tickets for Punjab,” he said.
Party’s central election committee is also considering Phagwara MLA Som Parkash from reserved Lok Sabha seat
