Ex-Rajasthan BJP chief denied ticket, sparks protests ahead of assembly polls

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], November 5 (ANI): Supporters of the former Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, Ashok Parnami, protested after he was denied a ticket in the fifth list of 15 candidates released by the party on Sunday for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
The party fielded Ravi Nayyar from Adarsh Nagar instead of Parnami, a former MLA.
The protesting supporters alleged that the party has banned BJP workers.
With only 20 days left for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, several leaders, including Congress MLA Girraj Malinga from Badi, joined the BJP.
These leaders were inducted in the presence of Union Minister and Jodhpur MP, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, at the party office in Jaipur on Sunday.
Dholpur Child Welfare Committee President Ravi Pachauri, State President of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Youth Wing Anurag Singh Brar, and several other leaders also joined the BJP.
Defending his decision to join the party, Malinga said he was influenced by the work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in favor of the country.
"I liked the policies of the BJP, and I am influenced by the work of PM Modi that he has done in favour of the country," he said.
Hitting at the Congress for allegedly targeting him for last 15 years, he said, "In the last 15 years, a lot has happened to me in Congress. We were being targeted one by one. In Dholpur, the Congress is being run by Pradhyuman Singh, whatever he says is final; no one else is listened to. Our only fault was that we were loyal to the party. They didn't even ask why we resigned."
"We were standing with Mallikarjun Kharge; those who opposed him got the minister's position... Whatever the party (BJP) decides is acceptable to us. Tickets are not an issue for me," he said.
Hitting out at AAP leaders for their alleged involvement in corruption cases, Anurag Singh said, "People who call themselves staunchly honest are today evading the investigation of the country's biggest court and investigating agency."
While Anshumaan Singh Bhati has been fielded from Kolayat, Gopal Sharma has been fielded from Civil Lines, and Prahlad Gunjal will be fighting from Kota North.
The BJP central election committee has also fielded Neerja Ashok Sharma from Rajakhera, Abhishek Singh from Masuda, Babu Singh Rathore from Shergarh, KG Paliwal from Mavli, Premchand Gochar from Pipalda, and Radheyshyam Bairva from Baran Atru, which is a Scheduled Caste majority constituency.
The party has chosen Amit Chaudhary from Hanumangarh, Rajkumar Rinva from Sardarshahar, Upen Yadav from Shahpura, Chandramohan Batvada from Kishan Pole, and Vijay Bansal from Bharatpur.
Meanwhile, suspended BJP MLA Kailash Meghwal announced on Sunday that he would contest as an independent candidate and will file my nomination tomorrow at Shahpura assembly headquarters, they said.
In another development, Pritpal Singh Baliawal, a Punjab-based spokesperson for the BJP, expressed gratitude to the party leadership for "expelling" Sandeep Dayma from the party.
"Result of our initiative! @BJPRajasthan expelled Sandeep Dayma from the party. Thanks to the @BJP4India leadership for adhering to our demand," Baliawal said in a post on X.
In the 2018 assembly elections, the Congress won 99 seats while the BJP won 73 seats in the 200-member house. Ashok Gehlot came to power with the support of BSP MLAs and independents.
Rajasthan will go to polls on November 25, the counting of which will take place on December 5 along with four other state assembly elections. (ANI)