BJP leader creates embarrassment for party, manipulates official mandate

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 5: Mischievously manipulating the Party mandate, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader created an embarrassing situation for the Party by filling his nomination papers from Ramban Assembly constituency despite the fact that Party High Command at Delhi had cleared the name of another candidate on November 2 along with 45 other candidates for the State.
The B J P had announced Neelam Langeh as its official candidate for the reserve seat of Ramban on November 2 along with 45 other candidates at the Central Election Committee that met in New Delhi. But a senior Party leader had given the authority letter to Girdhari Lal in which the name of candidate was not written and asked him to wait for writing the name till it is cleared by Central Election Committee.
After the High Command declared the name of Neelam Langeh as candidate, Girdhari Lal manipulated the letter by writing his own name in it and filed the nomination papers before ARO on November 3.
Meanwhile, BJP decided to send a letter to ARO asking him to cancel the candidature of Mr Lal and entertain the nomination papers of Party official candidate Langeh who filled his papers today in presence of senior Party leaders.
“The Party president, Jugal Kishore Sharma send the letter to ARO asking him to cancel the nomination of Mr Lal and entertain Mr Langeh as official candidate of BJP whose name has been cleared by the Party High Command as official candidate, a party spokesman said.
Neelam Langeh said, “I was busy with election campaigning yesterday and I do not know how Girdhari Lal got hold of the party nomination papers which were meant for me. While I am the official party candidate, he submitted the nomination papers in his own name.”
“This is a fraud and this man has challenged Party leadership including party president Amit Shah and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,” Langeh said.
According to Party sources, in order to avoid any mistake in the spelling of the candidate’s name, the nomination form is sent to the candidate to be filed in his own hand-writing.
“Girdhari Lal got the form which was meant for Neelam Langeh and he submitted the same under his name,” a senior party leader said.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has said that action would be taken against Girdhari Lal for “misleading” the authorities.
However, Langeh alleged the role of Assistant Returning Officer in the controversy. “How is it possible that when the party had declared my name, the ARO accepted the form submitted by another person?,” the leader said.
“I went by the rules and guidelines set by Election Commission of India. When the individual came along with all the required papers and the bank deposit, I accepted his papers,” Assistant Returning Officer Ramban Dr Tahir Firdous said.
Maintaining that Langeh is Party’s official candidate for Ramban seat, party MP from Hoshiarpur and its in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir Avinash Rai Khanna said, “there was a provision in the rules set by the Election Commission of India wherein the party can send a fresh nomination form and the nomination of Girdhari Lal can be cancelled.
“If the BJP leadership files a formal complaint I can initiate action against the individual as per law. There is a provision in the law by which the party can file fresh nomination papers for its official candidate,” the ARO said.

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