Though, BJP candidate from Mandi parliamentary constituency film actress Kangna Ranaut has started meeting party activists in the constituency, it is still a challenge for the BJP party leadership to assuage the feeling of dissident BJP leaders.  

The nomination of Ranaut has left several party aspirants  disappointed over denial of the BJP ticket.

Three times former Mandi MP Maheshwar Singh, who had won the Mandi parliament seat for the first time in 1989 for BJP,  by defeating Congress stalwart former Union Communication Minister Sukh Ram, and was a  strong contender for the BJP ticket,and is still camping in New Delhi.

Singh, the scion of the erstwhile royal family of Kullu has expressed his disenchantment for not giving him the party ticket and did not attend the first interactive session of the BJP candidate with party activists at Mandi on Monday.

Miffed over denial of ticket, another aspirant Ajay Rana also kept himself away from the party programme while former cabinet minister Ram Lal Markanda also did not attend.

Meanwhile, several ‘disgruntled’ BJP leaders who were ignored during the last Assembly election in 2022 in allotment of BJP tickets, also held a meeting at Pandoh two days back to decide their strategy during the parliament election.

Former Darang MLA Jawahar Thakur, former Sarkaghat MLA Col.  Inder Singh (retired), Hiteshwar Singh son of Maheshwar Singh, former Anni MLA Kishori Lal, former Kinnaur MLA Tejwant Singh Negi, Abhishek Thakur son of former Cabinet Minister and veteran BJP leader Roop Singh Thakur, former spokesman of state BJP Parveen Sharma and former BJP state General Secretary Ram Singh, were present in the meeting.

Former Cabinet Minister and three times Lahaul-Spiti MLA Ram Lal Markanda has already announced to contest as the Assembly by-election from the constituency after nomination of disqualified Congress rebel MLA Ravi Thakur by BJP.

Former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has already held meetings with some of the “dissidents” and it would be quite a challenging job for the BJP leadership to placate them.

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