SHILLONG: It is a major blow difficult to withstand and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in poll-bound Meghalaya could well find itself tottering as a result. In what has come as a massive jolt to the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls, the party’s vice-president of the Shillong unit Edward L Kharwanlang resigned with immediate effect on Monday.
In a letter to the party president, Kharwanlang said he resigned from the party and from the post of vice-president on personal grounds.
Kharwanlang apart, as many as 23 booth members of the party also put in their papers. In the letter addressed to the party president, the disgruntled members said they had worked with their heart and soul to drum up support for the party despite the very awkward and uncomfortable situation created by the BJP’s pet agenda of imposing a ban on beef, church vandalism and the overall anti-minority image of the saffron party, thanks to its fringe groups that are viewed as lynch mobs on a rampage.
“However, the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back was the selection of the party candidate for the 19 South Shillong constituency,” the letter unambiguously mentioned, adding that many BJP workers and even leaders were taken aback by the selection of a tainted candidate who, in the face of imminent electoral defeat, entered the BJP through the backdoor merely to ensure his political survival.
BJP allotted ticket to Sanbor Shullai and the protest is against the denial of ticket to Manas Chaudhuri.
The letter said that the entire South Shillong Mandal had made a plea to the central leaders not to admit Shullai, but in vain.
Among a clutch of polling booth leaders who resigned are BJYM vice-president (Shillong) Biswajit Ghosh, president, St. John’s polling booth Bert Corner Kharwanlang, executive member and president booth level Reeta Ghosh, booth level vice-president Shankar Thapa and others.
