Uttarakhand election: BJP drops sitting MLA, picks turncoat for Jhabreda seat

ROORKEE: The ruling BJP in Jhabreda has picked a turncoat and dropped its sitting MLA.
Rajpal Singh, who had contested the 2017 elections on Congress ticket, has been nominated as the BJP candidate from Jhabreda (an SC seat with over 1,10,000 voters), while Deshraj Karanwal, sitting BJP MLA, who had defeated Singh by 2,253 votes was refused the ticket.
Political pundits said that chances of retaining the seat seemed bleak for the saffron party due to the anti-incumbency factor, which is why it chose Singh.
However, party officials said that candidate selection was done after much thought.
"I have always worked for the development of my constituency. I do not understand what went wrong and why the party chose Singh. Two days ago, I was told that my wife -- Vyjayanti Mala -- will be fielded. She left her teaching job,” Karanwal said.
He added that he had accepted the party’s decision and that he will support Singh.
On the ticket allocation, party officials said that they had conducted a survey before taking the final call.
"We are sure Singh will win the seat,” said Jaipal Singh Chauhan, district president, BJP.
Poll analysts, on the other hand, said that the move could prove the BJP dear.