Bhartiya Janta Party hit by wave of nepotism

New Delhi: The BJP, which tries to project itself as a “party with a difference”, has been hit by a wave of nepotism. So much so that a section of senior leaders on Thursday raised strong objections about the matter at the central election committee meet. The party’s Chhattisgarh list got stuck as some leaders objected to the nomination of Chief Minister Raman Singh’s son Abhishek Singh from Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency.

Differences also surfaced in the party over the induction of Karnataka leader B. Sreeramulu, with Sushma Swaraj tweeting that “I want to make it clear that Mr Sreeramulu has been admitted in the party despite my stiff opposition”. In the third list that was announced on Thursday, the BJP has  announced the candidature of senior leader Yaswhant Sinha’s son Jayant from Hazaribagh, and the late Pramod Mahajan’s daughter Poonam from Mumbai North Central.

In Rajasthan, CM Vasundhara Raje’s son Dushyant, a sitting MP from Jhalawar Baran  is likely to be renominated. Ex Himachal Pradesh CM P.K. Dhumal’s son Anurag Thakur, has also been renominated from the Hamirpur LS berth. The Madhya Pradesh unit has been mounting pressure on the party leadership to give a ticket to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s brother-in-law Sanjay Singh.