The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held meetings in Bokaro and Dhanbad on Saturday to ascertain the opinions of party workers and encouraged them to support the party leader to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to people close to the developments. This was done in the midst of intense opposition within the party over the allocation of the ticket to Dhullu Mahto.
"BJP is a cadre-based party, and every party worker has to work like a squirrel to ensure the victory of the party candidate," stated Karmveer Singh, state general secretary (organization), during the meeting conducted in Bokaro under the direction of Jaidev Rai, district president of the party. We should get to work right now and get in touch with the general public to inform them of the welfare initiatives that the administration, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is carrying out.
Following Dhullu Mahto's selection for the party ticket from the Dhanbad constituency on March 25, protests broke out. On March 28, Krishna Agarwal, a member of the BJP's district committee, sent a letter to Babulal Marandi, the party's president for Jharkhand, pointing out that Mahto is facing 49 criminal cases in total, four of which have resulted in his conviction by a lower court.
According to Agarwal's letter to Marandi, Dhullu has become synonymous with Mafiosi in Dhanbad after speaking out against the mafia.
Additionally, he accused Mahto of spitting poison on caste lines against certain individuals.
Speaking to party leaders on Saturday, Mahto declared, "I will work for the poor and I am a devotee of Lord Ram." Every accusation made against me has to do with the struggle and fight for the average person.
Mahto declared, "I will take voluntary retirement from politics if any of the charges against me are proven to be true." He also stated that, as it is now as an MLA, his top priorities upon victory will be development and ensuring everyone's security.
Leader of the Opposition Amar Bauri, who backed Mahto, declared, "We will win the Dhanbad Lok Sabha seat by over 8 lakh votes."
Similar opinions were voiced at the Dhanbad meeting, which was attended by MLA Raj Sinha, Dhanbad MP PN Singh, and other people.
On Saturday, Agarwal stated that the ideas he had regarding Mahto in the letter he had written to the party state president Marandi were his own, but he regretted using the Zila Marwari Sammelan letterhead, of which he is the president.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Agarwal stated, "We resolved not to use the organization's letterhead when expressing our personal views during yesterday's Dhanbad Zila Marwari Sammelan meeting, which was held under my presidency." I felt bad using the letterhead to share my opinions with Babulal Marandi ji.
Nevertheless, he continued, "I stand by the personal opinions I expressed on March 28 but I disassociate the organization from my views because it is made up of various people with varying political affiliations."
