BHUBANESWAR: Protesting selection of candidate for Bargarh Lok Sabha seat, senior BJP leader Subash Chauhan on Tuesday resigned from the party. State BJP vice president Samir Mohanty confirmed that Chauhan submitted his resignation letter to party president Basant Panda.
Without naming Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Chauhan said the state unit of the BJP is now controlled by a powerful leader who is getting full support of the Sangh (RSS). Alleging that he is a victim of conspiracy by this coterie, an emotional Chauhan said, "I resigned protesting the one man-centric party where views of the others ignored."
Chauhan, who lost the Lok Sabha election in 2014 by a slender margin of 11, 178 votes against the BJD candidate, was a strong aspirant for the party ticket this time. In fact, he had polled the highest number of votes among BJP candidates.
However, the BJP fielded party's national secretary Suresh Pujari as he belongs to the Pradhan camp, ignoring recommendations of district committee of the party and Chauhan's supporters.
Expressing displeasure over ticket distribution, the former national convener of Bajrang Dal took to social media on Monday to vent his anger. While turning down the offer of vice-president post, he had also expressed his inability to contest from Bijepur Assembly seat.
As Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is one of the contestants from Bijepr, Chauhan had suggested the party to field a strong candidate like Pradhan to give a good fight to the BJD.