The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unit in Rajasthan suspended 11 senior leaders, including four ministers in Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's cabinet, for refusing to withdraw their nominations in favour of the alternative canidates picked by the party for the upcoming state elections, reported NDTV.
The 11 leaders – Surendra Goyal, Lakshminarayan Dave, Radheshyam Ganganagar, Hemsingh Bhadana, Rajkumar Rinava, Rameshwar Bhati, Kuldeep Dhankad, Deendayal Kumavat, Kishanram Nai, Dhansingh Rawat and Anita Katara – have been suspended from the primary membership of the party for six years.
Among the suspended leaders, two each belong to Churu, Jaipur and Pali districts in Rajasthan and one each from Sri Ganganagar, Alwar, Bikaner, Banswara and Dungarpur.
Since the announcement of the candidates list, many leaders have shifted camps, including Harish Meena, Habib-ir-Rehman, Manvendra Singh and Zamindara Party legislator Sona Devi Bawri.
The ruling BJP and the Congress in Rajasthan have fielded 11 turncoats for the 7 December Assembly polls, hoping that the "parachute" candidates will shine for them in the elections.
Voices of dissent are being heard from both parties and sidelined party leaders are quick to cross over to get a chance to contest.
The ruling BJP alone has fielded seven defectors, including six from the Congress and one from the BSP.
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