BJP high command keeping the son of the Congress stalwart Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Rohit Shekhar, on tenterhooks regarding the seat he would contest from even days after he joined the saffron party in Delhi, a frustrated Rohit said on Saturday that his options were still open. Notably, ND Tiwari along with his son and wife Ujjwala Sharma met the BJP national president Amit Shah in Delhi on January 18. While Rohit officially joined the saffron party Tiwari pledged his support to it. It was supposed to have been decided then as part of the understanding reached that BJP would nominate Rohit from any of the six seats the party has kept open. However, Rohit’s patience seems to be running thin with BJP top brass keeping him in suspense for days.
BJP insiders say that as per the understanding reached prior to Rohit’s entry in the saffron camp, he is supposed to contest from one of the three seats, left open from Nainital district. However, the party high command still sitting on the second list that include six seats-three each from Nainital and Dehradun districts- is leaving the ticket hopefuls, including Rohit, worried.
Things have turned murkier after the state party stalwart and the former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari who is also the sitting MP from Udham Singh Nagar said that Tiwari had not been given the party membership despite the leader along with his wife and son having met Amit Shah in Delhi. However, in the same breath, he said that Rohit might be fielded under the mounting pressure of the media, a cryptic comment that deepens mystery hanging over Rohit’s status vis-à-vis the upcoming election.
The Union minister and Almora MP Ajay Tamta further added to the nomination suspense involving Rohit when he said that someone was using the veteran Tiwari for personal interests. Though he stopped short of naming Rohit whom he meant is palpable, say the observers.
Observers further say that the party’s top leadership is circumspect after BJP’s oldest ally in NDA, Shiv Sena cried foul of the Shah-Tiwari meeting, alluding to BJP’s stinging criticism of Tiwari after the purported sex scandal surfaced when Tiwari was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece Samna sounded surprised over BJP extending a warm welcome to the same Tiwari.
Talking to the media. Rohit said that he would have been happy to contest from lalkuan seat. “But BJP has already declared its candidate for the seat,” he said.
The BJP insiders are of the opinion that the party’s national leadership is giving second thoughts to nominating Rohit following the hostile inputs received from the state and elsewhere. “They are wary lest the move proves counter-productive for the party in the poll-bound state,” said a party insider.