BJP candidate blames MP for loss

GURUGRAM: The infighting in the BJP, which played out over ticket distribution for the MCG polls, came out in the open on Tuesday when the husband of a candidate, who was believed to be a favourite for the mayor's job but lost the election, blamed her defeat on Rao Inderjit Singh, the BJP MP from Gurgaon.

Geeta Rani contested from Ward 17 on a BJP ticket but Independent candidate Rajni Sahni defeated her. In a press conference, Geeta's husband Sumer Singh Tanwar, who has been associated with BJP for a long time, said Inderjit was the main cause of the official BJP candidate's defeat. "Rao Inderjit Singh has always belonged to Congress, but for political gains, joined BJP in 2014. On the other hand, we have been with the party for several years now. This is the reason why BJP gave a ticket to my wife and not to the candidate proposed by him. After being denied, he ensured that the official candidate does not win," said Tanwar.

He added, "Three of his men who campaigned aggressively against my wife were Manish Mittal, Bhopal Singh and GL Yadav. Even though we asked him repeatedly, he did not come and campaign for my wife. I have already written to BJP national president Amit Shah demanding that Rao Inderjit be ousted for anti-party activity. I have also spoken to state party president Subhash Barala and in-charge Sandeep Joshi and they have assured me this will be looked into."

In his defence, Inderjit, who is also a Union minister, said, "While the party gave a ticket to Geeta, it was for the voters to vote for her and elect her. If she has not been elected, she can blame anyone but the fact remains that the voters rejected her. The party gave 35 tickets and in some places the party candidate won and in others it did not. However, in every ward, the party workers worked very hard," he said.