BJP nominates Meena for RS as he rejoins party
The BJP in Rajasthan nominated legislator Kirori Lal Meena for the March 23 Rajya Sabha elections, within hours of his joining the party from the National People’s Party (NPP) on Sunday.
Meena is among the three BJP candidates named for the biennial polls to the Upper House of Parliament, the other two being Madanlal Saini and parliamentarian Bhupendra Yadav, who is seeking a second term.
The Sikar-based Saini is a senior party leader who lost the Lok Sabha elections in 1998.
The announcement was made by chief minister Vasundhara Raje after chairing a meeting of state BJP legislators at the party office on Sunday.
Meena, who was the NPP’s state president and MLA for Lalsot in Dausa, said he was in exile for 10 years and his return is unconditional as his ideology always matched that of the BJP.
“I am like a bird who ventures out to sea but returns to the ship,” said the 66-year-old physician, who is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological mentor, since he was a medical student.
He rejoined the BJP with two more NPP legislators – his wife Golma Devi, who represents Rajgarh-Laxmangarh, and Geeta Verma, the MLA for Sikrai. A large number of NPP workers also joined the BJP.
He broke ranks with the BJP in 2008 over differences with Raje. He requested the chief minister on Saturday not to hold anything against him for what he may have said or done against her in the past decade.
For her part, the chief minister called him an able brother and said: “We parted ways due to some reasons but now you have returned and together we will ensure the party’s win in the coming elections.”
The BJP is happy to have the influential leader of the Meena community back in its fold after the defeat in the recent bypolls. The Meenas wield political clout in 28 assembly seats across 11 districts.
Meena was elected an Independent MP for Dausa in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. He launched the Rajasthan unit of the NPP, founded by former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma, in 2013 and fielded 134 candidates in the 2013 assembly elections. The party won only four seats.
The fourth NPP lawmaker, Navin Pilania of Amber in Jaipur, has refused to join the BJP. He said he will seek the people’s opinion before taking a decision.
Talks of Meena’s return to the BJP began after the party supported the NPP in Meghalaya to form the government after the February assembly elections in the northeastern state.
Political activists said the BJP’s rout in the recent byelections in Rajasthan expedited his return.
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