The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district office here today witnessed high drama when a group of workers held hostage the local MP and party unit chief for about two hours.
Workers, reportedly angry over ticket being given to an "outsider" from Ayodhya Assembly seat, tied with ropes local MP Lallu Singh and party unit chief Awadhesh Pandey.
The ticket to Ayodhya Assembly constituency, considered one of prestige by the BJP, has been given to Ved Gupta, who had recently joined the party from BSP.
The two leaders were released after two hours after they got assurance that their demand would be put before the party's state leadership.
"BJP workers had been demanding that the party should field a candidate from the cadre, and were treating Gupta as outsider. They were angry over the top BJP leadership's decision (to field Gupta). I and Singh had gone to the party office pacify them, but they held us hostage," Pandey said.
We have promised them that we will put their demands before the state leadership, he added.
"Our top leadership has selected Gupta as a candidate, however, we will try to explain our workers to accept the decision from heart," he said.
Gupta, a treader leader started his political career from Congress in early 80s but joined BJP in late 80s and was active in demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.
He later joined Samajwadi Party in 2002 and contested Assembly elections from Ayodhya.
In 2012, he joined BSP and again contested election from the seat as BSP candidate.
Last year he joined BJP and was successful in getting BJP ticket from Ayodhya.
The Ayodhya Assembly segment had been held by the BJP’s Lallu Singh since 1991 before he lost to Tej Narayan Pandey Alias Pawan Pandey of Samajwadi Party in 2012.
