Bhubaneswar: Ruckus erupted at BJP State headquarters after party allotted ticket to Smruti Rekha Pahi in Dharmasala Assembly constituency.
Himansu Sekhar Sahoo, who was also a top contender from Dharmasala BJP, was denied a ticket. Hundreds of his supporters today stormed to the party office protesting denial of ticket to the new face. The supporters of Himansu took out a massive rally and reached the party office demanding immediate withdrawal of Pahi’s ticket.
“Himansu Sahoo is the only leader from Dharmasala who deserves a party ticket. He is a fighter having a large number of supporters. The entire Odisha had seen his popularity during PM Modi’s rally at Chandikhol. More than 25, 000 people supporting Himansu had joined the rally. On the other hand, Smruti Rekha has less than 10 supporters. But she got the ticket. This is unfair. We demand immediate rollback of the decision,” a supporter of the Himansu camp of BJP said.
Another woman supporter said that Himansu is a tiger in Dharmasala. He is a fighter. “If our demand is not considered, we would not hesitate to commit suicide. We would continue our protest till the party leadership has not withdraw the decision,” she said.
The party office also witnessed several other protests from other areas also. Supporters of ticket aspirants created heavy pandemonium at the BJP office.
No statement of the senior leaders was available regarding the matter.
Notably, the BJP today announced the names of candidates for 112 Assembly constituencies.
