Who is Kirpal Parmar, the rebel Himachal BJP MLA who refused to withdraw nomination despite PM Modi’s call?

New Delhi: Crossing over to opposition parties or rebelling against their own party after being denied tickets is normal for politicians ahead of the election season.

However, how often do you hear Prime Minister of the country calling up a disgruntled party leader, who has been denied a ticket, requesting him to withdraw his nomination so that he doesn’t hurt the chances of the official party candidate, especially when their is a close contest on the cards.

“Withdraw, I have the right to tell you that,” said PM Modi to rebel BJP leader Kirpal Parmar when he called him days ago requesting him to withdraw and strengthen the prospects of the BJP candidate from the Fatehpur Assembly constituency in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh.

“Had you called me a day earlier, when there was time to withdraw, I would have withdrawn my nomination but now withdrawing would reflect on my votes. And, without campaigning, if I just get 20-30 votes it will impact my political career,” he told the Prime Minister as quoted by India Ahead News report.

 Who is Kirpal Parmar?

A former Rajya Sabha MP and ex-BJP state vice-president, Parmar was among the six leaders who were suspended for rebelling against the party after they were denied tickets.

Parmar, who is now contesting as an independent, has been upset with the BJP leadership since last year when he was not fielded in the bypoll from the constituency.

Parmar was denied the party ticket in the bypoll as the BJP fielded Baldev Thakur, who lost by over 5,800 votes’ margin. Congress’ Bhiwani Pathania had won the bypoll.

The 63-year-old squarely blames Nadda, his former classmate in school, for the revolt.

Parmar was also a close aide of BJP leader Sushma Swaraj and former Himachal CM Prem Kumar Dhumal.

What transpired between PM Modi and Parmar

Confirming the call, Parmar said that he received the call from PM Modi on 30 October.

“I am in the fight, not the official BJP candidate. It is a contest between me and the Congress candidate,” NDTV quoted him as saying to the Prime Minister.

“I am still contesting the election. I told Modi ji if you had called a day earlier, even a second earlier, I would have withdrawn. He told me that he was told that day. That he was told belatedly is also part of a conspiracy,” the report quoted him as adding.

“Modi ji, Nadda ji has humiliated me for 15 years,” he is believed to have told PM Modi.

What’s at stake

Himachal Pradesh has traditionally see-sawed between two parties. The BJP is fighting not just the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party but also around 30 rebels. Though efforts were made to placate them, not many budged to withdraw the nominations.

The Prime Minister’s call to Parmar is an indication of how deep the crisis is, given the nature of the keenly fought contest.

Election to 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly will be on 12 November and the results will be out on 8 December.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.