On Wednesday, the BJP made a surprising decision to replace two-time sitting Member of Parliament Kirron Kher with Sanjay Tandon as its candidate from the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.
Sanjay Tandon, aged 60, hails from Sector 18 and is the son of former Punjab BJP leader and Chhattisgarh governor Balramji Das Tandon. He holds the distinction of being the longest-serving president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Chandigarh, having served from 2010 to 2019.
The announcement caught various factions within the Chandigarh BJP off guard, as they were advocating for a “local candidate” to be fielded, The Indian Express reported. Party leaders such as Sanjay Tandon, former president Arun Sood, and others were vying for the candidacy. Interestingly, the local committee hadn’t even proposed Kirron Kher’s name.
Sanjay Tandon had long been vying for a ticket, but internal factionalism led to the BJP nominating Kirron Kher, a parachute candidate and actor-turned-politician, for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 general elections. Despite Kher’s claims of being from Chandigarh, she was often labeled as an “outsider” by certain groups within the BJP.
In the 2014 elections, Kirron Kher secured 1.91 lakh votes and defeated Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal, who garnered 1.21 lakh votes. AAP candidate Gul Panag also performed well, securing 1.08 lakh votes.
In 2019, Kirron Kher was once again nominated by the BJP and emerged victorious with 2.31 lakh votes, while Bansal secured 1.84 lakh votes. However, the AAP’s share of votes significantly decreased to just 3 percent.
Prior to 2014, Pawan Bansal represented Chandigarh in the Lok Sabha for three consecutive terms. Voting in the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat is scheduled for June 1, with vote counting on June 4.
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