Lately, BJP in Rajasthan has witnessed quite a few of its members quitting the party and the latest to join this brigade is its Nagaur MLA Habibur Rahman. Apparently, he has decided to quit the party as he has not been given the ticket by the party for the upcoming assembly polls.
Initially a member of Congress, Rahman had quit the party and joined BJP when he was denied the ticket in 2008 assembly polls. He had served as a minister in the Ashok Gehlot-led congress government between 2001 and 2003.
As a BJP candidate, he won the 2008 and 2013 assembly elections. Now that the BJP has denied him poll ticket giving the nomination to Mohan Ram Choudhary from Nagaur, he has left the saffron party.
Rahman joined the Congress at the party’s office in Jaipur on Wednesday in the presence of Ajmer MP Raghu Sharma and other leaders.
Addressing the press conference, he said “I have returned home today. There is no condition for joining the party”.
On whether he will contest the Assembly elections, Rahman rhetorically asked, “Who does not want to contest elections?”
According to some media reports, Rahman expressed his disappointment over the denial of tickets to Muslim candidates, and even indirectly indicated that BJP was playing the Hindutva card.
State minority cell vice-president Sadiq Khan has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, raising the concern about minority representation in Rajasthan. “Habibur Rahman left Congress and came to BJP. The party has now cut his ticket. What message are we sending out to others then? How will they come and join us? There is a party meet today and tomorrow and I hope at least 6-8 Muslim candidates get a ticket”, reported news18.
The nomination in the state has begun and the last date is 19 November. The election is scheduled to be held on December 7.