Political rebellion finally caught up with the BJP in Uttarakhand, where the saffron party had to suspend 33 of its own leaders for six years – and with immediate effect – for "anti-party activities." It may be noted here that the BJP had managed to destabilise the Congress government in the state – led by Chief Minister Harish Rawat – by getting some Congress MLAs to rebel.
Who was suspended, and why
Those suspended include the names of Murari Lal Bhatt, Satyendra Singh Rana, Mahesh Panwar, Budhhi Singh Panwar, Jagmohan Rawat, Bihari Lal Nautiyal, Dinesh Semwal, Vijay Bahadur Singh Rawat, Harish Nautiyal, Khushal Singh Nautiyal, Ghripal Pokhriyal, Rajesh Semwal and Girish Ramola. All these people are reportedly from the Gangotri constituency.
Uttarakhand BJP chief Ajay Bhatt said those suspended apparently had a little too much ambition for the party's liking. He was quoted by PTI as saying: "The BJP is a party of principles and its activists work with loyalty. Those who were over-ambitious have rebelled and are fighting against the party. There won't be any effect on the party with the exit of such over-ambitious people."
How will it affect the party?
All 33 people, who have been suspended, have apparently submitted papers to the Election Commission to contest as Independents in the Uttarakhand Assembly elections, because they were not given tickets by the BJP for the polls.
Because they were part of the BJP and the locals would associate them with it, the actual candidates of the saffron party in the 33 seats that these Independents are contesting in may suffer. Essentially, the suspended BJP members may eat into the saffron party's vote share in these seats, meaning winning margins for the BJP candidates may drop, and some swing seats may even go to the Congress!
