BJP MP Sinha did not vote: party demands explanation

New Delhi: A furious BJP leadership has taken action against its own leader Jayant Sinha, who is a former Union Minister and MP after the party learned that he did not cast his vote on Monday, NDTV reported.

The party issued a show-cause notice against him stating that he has not taken part in its organisational work and election campaigning ever since Manish Jaiswal was declared candidate in the Jharkhand Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, a high-profile seat, where Sinha is the sitting MP. It was in March that Sinha declared that he was not contesting for the polls this year.

BJP state general secretary Aditya Sahu said in the notice addressed to Sinha that the latter had not taken any interest in any organisational work or election campaigning ever since the party declared Manish Jaiswal, the candidate from Sinha's seat.

"You did not even feel the need to exercise your vote. The party's image has been maligned because of your conduct," NDTV quoted the notice. The notice mandated the 61-year-old leader to explain his stand within two days.

Sinha requested BJP chief JP Nadda to relieve him from direct electoral duties in a post on X on March 2. He said that he wanted to focus his efforts on combating global climate change in the country as well as the world. It was hours later, BJP announced Jaiswal as a candidate from the Hazaribagh constituency, which used to be represented by Yashwant Sinha and later his son Jayant Sinha.

In 2019, Jayant Sinha won the Hazaribagh seat with a margin of 4.79 lakh votes when he defeated Congress's Gopal Sahu.