BJP's ‘resort politics' goes international, 12 councillors flown to Nepal ahead of Manesar civic polls
In an attempt to prevent cross-voting, the party has sent 12 councillors to Nepal, following previous trips to Goa and Guwahati.
Gurugram: 'Resort politics' has gone international, that too with civic polls. The BJP is sending its councillors from Manesar beyond the country's borders—to Nepal. This comes ahead of the election for Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the Manesar Municipal Corporation on 5 August.
The rivalry, laden with regional and caste factors, has turned the Manesar civic elections into a battle for dominance in Haryana's BJP.
Ajit Singh Yadav, President of the Manesar BJP, declined to comment on this issue. Contacted by ThePrint, Yadav said that he had too many organisational responsibilities and couldn't get into these issues.
A senior BJP leader from Gurugram district, however, confirmed requesting anonymity, that the councillors are in Nepal. In a picture in a section of the media, the MCs were seen leaving a restaurant in Kathmandu.
The BJP leader told ThePrint that the councillors are going to be transported directly to the conference hall at Manesar on election day with no stops along the way to keep out external influences.
The BJP's 'resort politics' is a result of its loss in the Manesar mayoral election earlier this year, where independent candidate Dr Inderjeet Kaur, an outspoken sympathiser of Rao Inderjit, won the coveted post.
Even after forceful campaigning by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Khattar and Rao Narbir, the party could not win the mayoral seat, and seven of its councillors were elected in the 20-member civic body.
After the defeat, Rao Narbir acted fast, inducting seven independent councillors to push the BJP count to 14.
However, fearing cross-voting, the BJP is not taking any chances, according the BJP leader quoted earlier.
The move to quarantine councillors in Nepal reflects the party's resolve to prevent another shocker, particularly after the mayoral defeat exposed fissures within its ranks.
The BJP's 'resort politics' reminds one of Haryana politics before the anti-defection law was enacted in India in 1985, when political parties would send their MLAs to distant resorts to protect them from poaching by the rival political party in the state, infamous for the 'Aya Ram and Gaya Ram' brand of politics.
In 2019, NCP leader Sonia Doohan had 'rescued' four of her party's MLAs from a hotel in the BJP-ruled Haryana's Gurugram when Devendra Fadnavis was trying to form a government in Maharashtra with the help of Ajit Pawar.
More recently, the Haryana BJP had shifted six Congress MLAs from Himachal Pradesh to a government rest house and later to a hotel in Panchkula ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections in February 2024.
At the heart of this 'resort politics' saga now is the long-standing rivalry between Khattar and Rao Inderjit. The latter, a six-time MP from Gurugram and a scion of Rewari's erstwhile royal family, has never shied away from critiquing Khattar's leadership.
The factionalism extends to the state level, with Rao Narbir, a Khattar loyalist, having a confrontation with Rao Inderjit. In 2019, Narbir was denied a ticket for the Assembly elections, a step credited to Rao Inderjit's influence. Narbir got a ticket, though, in 2024 after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and won from Badshahpur and was appointed a minister to counterbalance power in Ahirwal. The defeat in the Manesar mayoral election, though, was a personal setback for Narbir, who had campaigned hard for BJP's nominee Sunder Lal. Dr Kaur's win, supported by Rao Inderjit's faction, aggravated the divide.
Rao Narbir Singh didn't respond to calls made to his mobile phone.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: 'Tried to divide us for 10 yrs.' Why Rao Inderjit is taking on fellow Union minister Khattar
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