ELECTIONS

Bihar members storm BJP headquarters

By Onkar Singh in New Delhi
January 14, 2005 10:31 IST

Bharatiya Janata Party workers unhappy with the ticket distribution process for the Bihar assembly election stormed into the party's headquarters -- 11, Ashok Road, New Delhi -- on Thursday evening.

They shouted slogans to protest against the manner in which the party's central election committee had selected the candidates.

As a precautionary measure, the party cancelled the schedule press conference and told the journalists that the list would be faxed or emailed to them.

The workers targeted almost all the BJP leaders and threatened to disrupt the election campaign.

They said Arun Jaitley, who is in charge of Bihar, has no idea about the situation in the state.

Former minister Shahnawaz Hussain also came in for criticism. He was labelled an Inter-Services Intelligence agent who had amassed crores of rupees.

Party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and state unit president Gopal Narayan Singh, who came out to hear their grievance, were pushed around.

"Money is changing hands and tickets are being sold for Rs 10-15 lakh each," said Sudhir Sharma, who had been denied ticket.

"Instead of giving tickets to grassroots workers, they are giving tickets to the relatives of state leaders," Jaya Rani Yadav, whose name was not on the list, said.

The complaint is not without merit. For instance, one of those who has got a ticket is Bhavesh Jha, former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's private secretary.
Onkar Singh in New Delhi
NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email