DEHRADUN: Coming ahead of Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit, the exits of Yashpal and Sanjeev Arya have caused a stir among the BJP rank and file in Uttarakhand. Sources in the BJP said that state leaders were summoned by the central leadership to explain the defections.
“The meeting will take place either in Uttarakhand or Delhi. This (exits) will also be discussed in the home minister’s meeting. Though there was a talk of Arya and his son rejoining the Congress, it has raised a question on the functioning of the party as well as the government,” said a party insider.
Yashpal Arya had joined the BJP in January 2017, just before the Assembly elections. Before him, nine rebel MLAs left the Congress for the BJP in 2016. Now, the exits have sparked rumours of others, including Harak Singh Rawat and Satpal Maharaj, taking the same route. The opposition Congress has already formed a panel to oversee ‘ghar wapsi’ of those leaders and workers who were either expelled or voluntarily left the party in last five-six years.
In November last year, Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat had sparked speculations of rejoining the Congress when he commented that there were no permanent friends and adversaries in politics. Political experts asserted that both parties are betting on every seat in the 70-member Assembly as every seat matters. Meanwhile, voices of dissent within the Congress have started emerging. Sarita Arya, women’s wing of the party, said if Sanjeev Arya gets ticket from Nainital, she would be forced to think of leaving the party.