Upset over delay in announcing candidates, Haryana AAP leader joins BJP

Chandigarh, Sep 9 (IANS) Upset over the delay in nominating candidates for any of the 90 Assembly seats, Ranjit Uppal, the AAP district president from Panchkula in Haryana on Monday resigned from the party and joined the BJP.

Uppal said he joined the BJP as he was upset that the party failed to announce candidates for any of the Assembly seats and was instead seeking the sharing of seats with the Congress.

Party insiders said Uppal was keen to contest from the Kalka seat, which falls in Panchkula, but the BJP has already announced its candidate.

Uppal met Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini here and joined the party. He was accompanied by Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Kartikeya Sharma, whose mother Shakti Rani Sharma is the BJP’s candidate from Kalka.

“Earlier, the AAP had claimed it would field its candidates and contest all 90 seats in the 2024 Assembly polls. Now they are seeking seat-sharing with the Congress, which has already announced over 41 candidates,” he told the media.

“In fact, both the parties (the Congress and the BJP) have announced their candidates and started their campaigns, while AAP is on standby. Moreover, the party which has been condemning the Congress rule in the past, is now teaming up with the Congress,” he said.

From Kalka, the BJP fielded former state Cabinet Minister Venod Sharma’s wife, Shakti Rani, ignoring local favourite and former legislator Latika Sharma’s claims. She is facing dissent within the party as she has been labelled an outsider.

Many local party leaders expressed resentment after Latika was denied the nomination.

However, Shakti Rani clarifies that she is no outsider as her family traces its roots to Kalka. She is campaigning to revive the HMT unit in Pinjore, a crucial poll promise.

The Union Cabinet in 2016 approved the closure of the HMT factory and disbursement of a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to all its employees.

The first woman Mayor of Ambala, Shakti Rani was inducted into the BJP just days before her candidature was announced.

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