Rajasthan civic polls: BJP expels seven more rebels; total reaches 48

Jaipur: The BJP has expelled seven more members for six years from its primary membership for contesting the Rajasthan civic body elections as Independents against the party’s official candidates, taking the total number of those ousted to 48.

State General Secretary Shravan Singh Bagdi issued the latest expulsion order, acting on the instructions of State President Madan Rathore. The party described the move as a crackdown on “gross indiscipline” and “anti-organisational activity”.

The fresh action covers five rebels from the Ajmer Municipal Corporation and one each from Jaitaran and Mundwa municipalities.

From Ajmer, those expelled are Arun Sharma (Ward 38), Neetu Mishra (Ward 41), Seema Goswami (Ward 52), Ruby Jain (Ward 74) and Dharmendra Singh Chauhan ‘Pancham’ (Ward 75). Several of them have held party or elected posts in the past: Goswami is a former district president of the Ajmer City Mahila Morcha, while Sharma is a former Mandal president.

Rakesh Solanki, a former councillor and now an Independent candidate from Ward 17 of Jaitaran Municipality, has also been removed from the party.

In Nagaur district, Lakshmi Narayan Mundel, former state secretary of the Kisan Morcha, has been expelled for contesting from Ward 8 of Mundwa Municipality.

The BJP has repeatedly warned that fielding oneself, supporting another rebel, or even putting up family members against an official nominee amounts to anti-party activity. Before Wednesday’s action, 41 office-bearers and workers had already been expelled for six years, with the highest number, 26, coming from Jaipur.

The series of expulsion orders underscores the party leadership’s push to enforce discipline and protect the prospects of its authorised candidates in the ongoing civic polls across Rajasthan.

(Inputs from IANS)