BJP may axe most MLAs in Alwar, Ajmer districts
BYPOLL EFFECT Plan comes in the wake of heavy losses suffered in bypolls JAIPUR
BJP has done a separate review of the MLAs in these constituencies in the aftermath of the loss in bypolls.
SENIOR BJP LEADER
: Rajasthan BJP plans to axe most MLAs in the 16 assembly seats under Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha constituencies where the party lost badly in the bypolls held earlier this year, a senior party leader said.
The Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha constituencies comprise eight assembly seats each and barring Nasirabad in Ajmer that has a Congress MLA, all other seats are held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In Rajgarh-Laxmangarh seat under Alwar Lok Sabha constituency, Golma Devi, wife of Rajya Sabha MP Kirodilal Meena had won on National People’s Party (NPP) ticket, but joined the BJP in March this year along with her husband who also quit the NPP to return back to the BJP fold. “The party has done a separate review of the MLAs in these constituencies (apart from the internal survey on performance of MLAs) in the aftermath of the loss in bypolls. Barring two to three seats where MLAs have performed well, we plan to give tickets to new faces,” a senior party leader, who did not wish to be named, said. The review was in addition to the internal survey on performance of MLAs conducted recently by the state BJP on all the 160 seats.
Sources also said that the BJP is looking to poach some influential Congress leaders in Alwar and Ajmer. But, the senior party leader feigned ignorance about any such plan.
A microanalysis of the bypoll results done by the BJP had shocked the senior leaders, as the party’s candidates had drawn a blank in some booths and got one or two votes in some other booths. “The margin of defeat was worrisome and clearly there was anger against the public representatives in most constituencies. The poor performance in urban seats was totally unexpected,” he said.
An analysis of the Lok Sabha bypoll results showed that the BJP candidate did not win a single assembly segment of the two parliamentary constituencies, losing even urban votes in Alwar and Ajmer city – the party’s bastions.
Apart from performance, the party will be looking at local issues and caste equations before selecting the candidate.
State BJP president Madanlal Saini refused to comment on the possibility of the party sacking most MLAs in the assembly seats falling under Ajmer and Alwar.
On September 9, chief minister Vasundhara Raje had said that the tickets for the coming assembly elections would be distributed based on a survey of probable candidates and only performance and winnability will be the criteria