Although shattered by the desertion of several leaders, the Himachal lokhit Party (HlP) on Wednesday put on a brave face and held a meeting here to consolidate its base, saying that their target was not the lok Sabha polls but the next Assembly elections.
HlP chief Maheshwar Singh said the party is at no loss with some leaders moving to other parties and that it would have no adverse effect on the future of the party. He said that some people had left the party and some had been given show-cause notice. Singh asked party workers to regroup and focus on next Assembly election as the party will strengthen its membership drive across the State. "The HlP will be doing its work in the people's interests and prepare itself for the 2017 Assembly election," he added.
The Himachal lokhit Party formed in 2012 is a splinter group of the BJP. Before the Assembly election, several BJP rebels joined the HlP and contested the election on its ticket. The HlP recently faced severe setback with several leaders returning to the BJP. Among the leaders who deserted the party include AAP candidate from Kangra Rajan Sushant's son Dhairaya Sushant, who was the youth wing chief of the HlP, former legislator Dullo Ram, who has returned to the BJP, besides former legislator KD Dharmani, some leaders from Solan, Hamirpur and Una.
Some of the leaders who left the HlP were annoyed with the alleged pro-Congress stance of Maheshwar Singh. Sources said that there was a faction within the party who wanted Maheshwar Singh to contest for Mandi parliamentary seat but after the party's decision not to contest the polls, several leaders left the party. Some leaders were of the opinion that the HlP should contest the upcoming lok Sabha polls to assess its strength in the State. "If we want to be a third front in the State, we should know about our strength through election," said a senior HlP leader.