Infighting in Dehra BJP unit to the fore, Satti, Hoshiyar Singh skip meeting

Infighting in the Dehra BJP once again came to the fore at a meeting of the active members of the party on April 9. The meeting was called on the direction of the national body of the BJP in all organisational districts in the country. While the meeting was held smoothly in all other organisational districts of Kangra, no senior leader attended the meeting in Dehra.

Sources said that former state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti did not attend the Dehra meeting due to infighting in the party. Besides Satti, former MLA Hoshiyar Singh also stayed away. Since no senior party leader attended the meeting, the workers returned disappointed. Many of them openly vented their ire over the state of affairs in the Dehra organisational district.

The sources said that the Dehra unit of the BJP had been battling infighting since former Independent MLA Hoshiyar Singh joined it last year. Former BJP members and the supporters of Hoshiyar Singh have been at loggerheads in the area.

Former minister Ramesh Dhawala, who had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections on the BJP ticket from Dehra in 2022, had also openly vented his ire at the state of affairs of the party. He had even talked on social media about floating a third political alternative in the state. Dhawala has been saying that many dedicated BJP workers, who had given their lifetime to the party, are disillusioned with the way many senior Congress leaders had been inducted into the party, blocking the prospects of growth of many dedicated BJP workers.

Ajay Khatta, BJP president in Dehra organisational district, said that Satti did not attend the meeting as he was busy somewhere else. In his place, the party sent Amit Sharma, in-charge of the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency, to preside over the meeting. About the absence of Hoshiyar Singh, he said that he was also not available. Asked about resentment expressed by Dhawala and Ajay Khatta said that he cannot comment about him as he was senior leader of the party.

Meanwhile, the sources said that the BJP was facing disenchantment among party workers in the Assembly constituencies where former Congress leaders had been given preference over the old guard. Six congress MLAs and three Independent legislators, including Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra, had joined the BJP last year. The party was now facing the challenge and cajoling its old guard to accept the new leadership.

Himachal Tribune