Lok Sabha elections: After being denied ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, two-term Churu MP from Rajasthan Rahul Kaswan on Monday (March 11) resigned from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the post of MP. He joined Congress today in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi.
Instead of Kaswan, the BJP has fielded Devendra Jhajharia, who has won gold twice and silver once in the Paralympics, from the seat.
Rahul Kaswan quits BJP
The Churu MP announced his resignation on the social media platform X citing 'political reasons'. He expressed gratitude to BJP chief JP Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who gave him the opportunity to serve the Churu Lok Sabha family for 10 years.
"Ram Ram to all my Churu Lok Sabha family, My dear family members! In accordance with your sentiments, I am going to make a significant decision regarding my public life. Due to political reasons, today at this moment, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party and from the position of Member of Parliament," he said.
"I express my gratitude to the entire Bharatiya Janata Party, National President Shri J.P. Nadda Ji, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, and Shri Amit Shah Ji, who gave me the opportunity to serve the Churu Lok Sabha family for 10 years. Special thanks to my Churu Lok Sabha family, who always provided me with invaluable support, cooperation, and blessings," he added.
Why was Rahul Kaswan angry with BJP?
Rahul Kaswan, the incumbent Lok Sabha MP from Churu, has secured victories in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections under the BJP banner. However, the BJP has decided not to field him this time and has instead nominated Para Olympian Devendra Jhajharia for the Churu constituency. This decision has left Rahul Kaswan disgruntled with the BJP.
‘What was my crime’
In a clear act of rebellion following being overlooked by the BJP for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Kaswan had raised questions about the party's decision to deny him a ticket to run for a third term. Expressing exasperation after being denied a ticket by the party he asked, "What was my crime after all?"
In a post on X, Kaswan said, "What was my crime after all? Was I not honest? Was I not hard-working? Was I not loyal? Was I tainted? Did I leave any stone unturned in getting the work done in Churu Lok Sabha?"
"I was at the forefront in the implementation of all schemes of the prime minister. What else was needed? Whenever I asked this question, everyone remained speechless. No one is able to answer this," he said.
Rahul Kaswan's father Ram Singh has been a BJP MP and an MLA from Churu. His mother Kamla Kaswan has been a BJP MLA from Sadulpur.
BJP Lok Sabha poll candidates
The BJP has announced its Lok Sabha election candidates for 15 out of 25 seats in Rajasthan, featuring four Union ministers and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Among the sitting MPs who have not been nominated to contest the upcoming polls are Rahul Kaswan from Churu, Ranjita Koli from Bharatpur, Devji Patel from Jalore, Arjun Lal Meena from Udaipur, and Kanakmal Katara from Banswara.
However, candidates for the remaining 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state are yet to be announced by the party.
Also Read: Lok Sabha polls: Four BRS leaders and one Congress leader from Telangana join BJP
