Frantic efforts are being made by the Himachal and national BJP leaders to bring back Maheshwar Singh in party fold to contest as BJP’s candidate from the Mandi parliamentary constituency.
Singh had won twice from the seat in 1998 and 1999 defeating Congress candidates Pratibha Singh and present Health Minister, Thakur Kaul Singh. In a bid to bring Maheshwar Singh in party fold, the BJP central leadership has kept the decision on Mandi parliamentary seat pending even as it has announced its candidates on the remaining three seats.
Hurt and humiliated by the top State leaders of the BJP, Maheshwar Singh was forced to resign from the primary membership of BJP. He floated his own Himachal lokhit Party (HlP) which contested from most of the 68 seats in the 2012 Assembly polls affecting the chances of BJP. However, only Singh could win in the polls.
Maheshwar Singh, who was at Mandi to participate in the International Shivratri Fair, said he had been deeply hurt by grave injustice perpetrated on him by the party which he nursed in the State by the sweat of his brow. “I wish you can imagine my unbearable pangs which I went through at the time of leaving the party”, he confided.
He said he was “sick and sore” over the insensitivity of two BJP stalwarts of the state for their “bull-headed and stubborn” attitude towards a dedicated and devoted worker.
Meanwhile, pressure of the party workers was mounting on BJP high command for bringing back Singh to the party fold. They are trying to convince the BJP leaders that he was the only winnable candidate who could defeat the Pratibha Singh, wife of Chief Minister, from the Mandi parliamentary constituency.
Sources said last minute efforts are being made to persuade him.