Dissent, crisis in Nirmal BJP unit

BJP Nirmal district president Dr P Rama Devi, who was a strong contender for the Mudhole segment, was shocked after being denied the ticket

Nirmal: The BJP’s list of candidates has led to dissent among ticket aspirants in different segments and has triggered a crisis for the party in the district.

As per the list, P Rama Rao Patel who joined the party recently will be fielded from Mudhole constituency. Aleti Maheshwar Reddy is the party’s candidate from Nirmal segment, while former MP Ramesh Rathod is the nominee from Khanapur Assembly constituency.

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BJP Nirmal district president Dr P Rama Devi, who was a strong contender for the Mudhole segment, was shocked after being denied the ticket. She declared that she had resigned from the post late on Sunday evening. She burst into tears while addressing the media, and said the party had given the ticket to those who gave money to it. She announced that she would be in the fray from Mudhole.

Dr Rama Devi had contested twice on a BJP ticket and stood second in 2014 and 2018. She had polled 48,485 votes and 40,602 votes respectively.

Meanwhile, Mohan Rao Patel, who expected the ticket from Mudhole, accused the BJP of duping him. He told the media that he had toured 190 villages and met 42,000 families carrying the flag of the party. “The party assured me that the ticket will be given to me. But, it did not consider my application. Is this called discipline?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, the party did not try to placate dissenting aspirants by deploying key leaders so far. Had the aspirants been assured of justice in future, the dissent and crisis could have been prevented,” a senior leader saids, adding that unilateral decisions in choosing candidates resulted in the crisis.