With the fissures within the State BJP ranks deepening over the likelihood of nomination being given to the ten rebel Congress leaders, the party leadership is worried over whether the much-touted Parivartan Yatra — to be kicked off on November 13 by party president Amit Shah — would carry enough conviction to sway the people towards the change.

“We apprehend that the acrimony would further be exacerbated as the ticket distribution process starts. However, it is clear that the ten rebel Congressmen, still formidable in their respective fiefdoms, contesting and winning the election would help the BJP break the tradition continuing since 2007 of no party getting a clear mandate to rule the State.

It is also clear that the BJP candidates who contested the ten seats against the Congress leaders who later turned rebels had hardly any chance to wrest the seats from them had they been in the Congress.

Thus, the ten rebels being given nominations would come to the advantage of the BJP, a prospect that the Congress dreads,” said a BJP insider.

However, as things stand now, the BJP leaders who contested the 2012 election against the ten rebels are not ready to yield ground, citing the sweat they had shed to carry the party’s flag, braving odds.

Talking to The Pioneer, Omgopal who had defeated Congress MlA Subodh Uniyal in 2007 election and later in the election 2012 lost the electoral battle to the same Uniyal from the same Narendranagar constituency said he was busy preparing to face the heat of the election from Narendranagar seat, sure as he was that he would be favoured with the nomination this time too despite Uniyal presently being in the saffron camp.

The Assembly election-2007 had thrown a hung house as BJP which emerged as the single largest party had won 34 seats out of the 70 seats left for grabs, two short of clear majority, and the party formed the government with the support of UKD MlA Rajendra Singh Bhandari.

later, they roped in another UKD MlA Diwakar Bhatt. Both Bhandari and Bhatt were inducted in the BJP-led government to give the government durability, to withstand the pressure of the mercurial politics.

Clear majority eluded the contesting parties again during the 2012 election with Congress and BJP finishing with 32 and 31 seats in their respective kitties.

“This time around, it seems that things would be much clearer in favour of BJP in case the ten Congress rebels are nominated. They are likely to comfortably edge past the Congress nominees in case the saffron camp throws its full weight behind them.

However, things are far from encouraging for the BJP with the party grappling with internal rift over the nomination of the ten Congress rebels.

If the BJP leaders who contested against the ten decide to plunge into the contest as rebels they might eat into the votes of the party, helping the Congress to retain them by razor thin margins, something that BJP can hardly afford, desperate as it is to wrest the state from the Congress,” said a state watcher.