Jaipur: BJP's state unit on Tuesday claimed to have quelled the rebellion in four bypoll-bound seats following the intervention of chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. After a series of meetings with disgruntled leaders, the party managed to secure support from those who were threatening to contest as independents.
The unrest emerged following the announcement of candidates for six of the seven bypoll-bound seats on Oct 19, with ticket hoepfuls voicing dissent in the constituencies of Jhunjhunu, Deoli-Uniara, Ramgarh, and Salumber.
Cabinet minister Sumit Godara was tasked with convincing Bablu Chaudhary, who lost the 2023 assembly election, to support the party's candidate Rajendra Bhambu. Godara brought Chaudhary to Jaipur for talks with CM Sharma, who assured him of a promising future. According to sources, Sharma offered Chaudhary a "good platform" after the by-elections. Chaudhary agreed to support the BJP candidate and actively campaign for the party.
In a similar effort, cabinet minister Gautam Dak was assigned the responsibility of handling Jai Ahuja, who declared his candidacy as an independent from the Ramgarh seat against BJP candidate Sukhvant Singh. Dak convinced Ahuja to withdraw his bid after facilitating a phone conversation with CM Sharma. Ahuja, who initially called for a panchayat to gather local support, ultimately announced he would not contest the election.
Another seat where BJP faced rebellion was Deoli-Uniara, where Gujjar supporters of Vijay Bainsla, who lost in the 2023 polls and was denied the bypoll ticket, reached the BJP state headquarters, demanding that the ticket be given to Bainsla. On his part, Bainsla assured the party that he had always supported its decisions and would continue to do so.
The party similarly managed to pacify the disgruntled Narendra Meena in Salumber. In the two other seats—Khinvsar and Dausa—the party did not face any significant rebellion. While BJP's state president Madan Rathore had attempted to manage the situation during the first three days, his efforts did not succeed.