Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) The conflict within the Bharatiya Janata Party on the Rajya Sabha nominations came out in the open Tuesday as senior leader Yashwant Sinha slammed the decision not to field a BJP member from Jharkhand.

BJP’s decision to support Anshuman Mishra, an NRI who has been principal secretary to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as an independent candidate for the seat, has not gone well with several of its leaders. The issue was raised in the meeting of its parliamentary party Tuesday morning.

Expressing his dissent to the decision, Sinha said money power was taking over the Rajya Sabha polls.

“A worker should have been nominated. MLAs should not be put on the auction block to the highest bidder. (L.K.) Advaniji has assured he would talk to party president when I raised the issue in parliamentary party meet. Outsiders should not be given ticket,” Sinha told reporters here.

“Appeal to all parties to reject people who use money power in Jharkhand. A local leader should have been nominated. BJP MLAs have signed nomination papers of A. Mishra. I’m pained by this,” he said.

According to sources, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are also among the key leaders who have opposed this nomination.

“Mishra belongs to neither BJP nor Jharkhand,” Sinha said.

The decision surprised many as the party did not field its Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, S.S. Ahluwalia, who is a member from Jharkhand and is retiring on April 2.

Evading any direct comment on the issue, Ahluwalia told reporters that the issue was raised in the meeting and Advani has said he will talk to party president Nitin Gadkari on this.

Asked about his nomination, he said he cannot comment as there was “conflict of interest”.

“I am a soldier of the party,” he said.

According to sources, the choice of Mishra was backed by Gadkari.