The BJP did not give a ticket to Diya Kumari, Sawai Madhopur MLA and member of Jaipur royal family.
The suspense over the Sawai Madhopur assembly seat in BJP ended on Saturday. The BJP did not give a ticket to Diya Kumari, Sawai Madhopur MLA and member of Jaipur royal family. The former pradhan of Sawai Madhopur Asha Meena, who had joined the BJP during election campaigning of Diya Kumari during 2013 has taken her place this time as she was a preferred candidate of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena.
The ruling party released its third list of eight candidates for assembly elections on Saturday. Apart from Diya Kumari, BJP has also denied ticket to GAD Minister Hem Singh Bhadana and has instead given ticket to former MLA Rohitashav Sharma from Thanagaji assembly constituency of Alwar district.
The BJP workers in Sawai Madhopur are displeased with the move and have expressed displeasure over the party’s third list. Local BJP workers are not happy with the party’s decision for nominating Asha Meena for Sawai Madhopur.
Diya Kumari was denied ticket due to the influence of Kirodi Lal Meena. It is being speculated that he was not in favour of giving a ticket to Diya. She had defeated Kirodi Meena in the last assembly election when he was in National Peoples Party (NPP). Now, the circumstances have changed. Kirodi Meena is back in BJP. So he forced his influence on the selection of candidate from Sawai Madhopur.
The impact of dropping Diya from Sawai Madhopur seat can be felt on other seats in Bharatpur division. The former royal families have an influence among the people in Dholpur, Bharatpur, Sawai Madhopur and Karauli.
Denying ticket to a popular face can adversely affect the saffron party on some seats in the Bharatpur division. As a MLA, Diya during the last five years had relentessly worked for the upliftment of poor in Sawai Madhopur. She has through her Princess Diya Kumari Foundation (PDKF) has been working on the inclusive development and the upliftment of the underprivileged with a strong focus on women and girls.
Diya clearly told the BJP leadership that she will not contest elections from any other seat other than Sawai Madhopur. Her name was dicusssed for Hawa Mahal, Vidyadhar Nagar and Jhotwara seats of Jaipur, but she refused to relent.
Asha Meena is wife of RAS officer Hari Singh Meena, who is close to Kirodi Meena. She is also sister in law of IAS Kungi Lal Meena. Asha was the Sawai Madhopur Pradhan on the Congress ticket from 2010 to 2015. In the assembly elections 2013, Asha had joined the BJP in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje during the campaign of Diya Kumari.
Asha contested the election of the District Council member on the ticket of BJP, but she lost. It is believed that Kirodi Meena’s pressure on the BJP leadership help Asha Meena get the party nomination.
RIGHT MOVE?
Impact of dropping Diya from Sawai Madhopur seat can be felt on other seats in Bharatpur division as well. The former royal families enjoy influence among the people in Dhaulpur, Bharatpur, Sawai Madhopur and Karauli area. The saffron party can face trouble in some seats of Bharatpur division due to its decision to change candidate from Sawai Madhopur.
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