CHANDIGARH: With the parliamentary elections just fifteen months away, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is worried of losing the trust of local leaders as the Gurdaspur MP and Bollywood star Sunny Deol has not visited the constituency since last two years. The consensus among the local party leaders is leaning towards choosing a local leader as the next candidate.
It was in September 2020 that Deol last time came to his constituency during the Covid-19 pandemic but that too was a whistle-stop tour as he met senior officials. He was later tested Covid-19 positive while shooting outdoors. The visit had come six months after his previous one. The angry locals have time and again complained that Deol never visits his constituency and have been asking for his resignation. In 2022, posters were put up reading ‘Gumshuda ki Talash’ along with his photo.
Deol had also not come to campaign for BJP candidates in the last year’s assembly elections. The Punjab BJP President Ashwani Sharma’s assembly segment Pathankot falls in the parliamentary constituency of Deol and Sharma was the only saffron party leader who won his seat in entire majha region of the state. The party leaders are a worried lot as they say their actor had hardly contributed and with the general elections in 2024 it will be daunting task for them to go before the public and campaign.
They also claim that his performance in Parliament has been also below par and also his attendance has been low. “A local candidate who knows the political topography of the area well should be fielded in the next elections, as Deol has done enough damage to the party already. Now this experiment of giving tickets to celebrities will not work,’’ said a party leader.