Election time. In an attempt to avoid any case of rebellion after ticket distribution for next year's Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, the state unit of BJP has started identifying and convincing such leaders to ensure victory for the party candidates.
The Assembly poll in-charges of the party in Uttarakhand have been asked to prepare a list of such leaders and submit it to the state leadership.
Sources said that the BJP leadership in Uttarakhand has realised that some aspirants will raise their voices if they are denied tickets, and to avoid such a situation, they must be approached and convinced well in advance.
“The Assembly in-charges have been asked to prepare a list of such leaders so that the state leadership can approach all the strong contenders for ticket in Uttarakhand to convince them not to be upset over denial of ticket and continue to work for the party,” sources said.
The Uttarakhand BJP has already started persuading its leaders to work for the party, irrespective of whether they get a ticket.
“Some senior leaders have already started approaching all the strong contenders, explaining them about the entire ticket distribution process and the criteria considered by the Central leadership while finalising candidature. The party is bigger than anyone and everyone must continue to work for it,” a party leader said.
Another BJP leader said that it is human nature that people get upset if they are denied election tickets after working hard for the party for years.
“Only one person will get a ticket in each Assembly seat. But in our party, there are many strong contenders for every seat. The one who best fits all the criteria of winnability will get a ticket,” he said.
The BJP leader further stated that few of those who will be denied tickets will get upset and some of them will lodge their protest.
“Senior leaders will convince such leaders that denial of a ticket does not mean the end of a political career, and we all must continue to work for the party. Our only target is to continue the ongoing development of the state under the BJP government and to achieve this, everyone must continue to work for the party,” he said.
Elections to the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly will be held in February-March next year along with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.
The BJP has set a target of winning over 60 seats in Uttarakhand. In the last Assembly polls in 2017, the BJP had won 57 seats. (IANS)