Disgruntled ex-BJP leader enters fray as independent candidate; breaks into tears after nomination

After filing his nomination papers as an independent candidate from Kheragarh here on Friday, former BJP leader Digamber Singh Dhakrey broke into tears alleging that a senior party leader had betrayed him.Dhakrey, however, said he will support Yogi Adityanath if he won as an independent candidate.Dhakrey said he was a native of Kheragarh and the BJP had assured him the ticket from this constituency.

After filing his nomination papers as an independent candidate from Kheragarh here on Friday, former BJP leader Digamber Singh Dhakrey broke into tears alleging that a senior party leader had betrayed him.

Dhakrey, however, said he will support Yogi Adityanath if he won as an independent candidate.

Dhakrey said he was a native of Kheragarh and the BJP had assured him the ticket from this constituency. However, he alleged, a party leader ditched him at the last minute so that he could not contest from any other political party. “Kheragarh is my native place. I will contest with full strength to avenge my betrayal,” he told reporters. “They fielded an outsider, who was defeated by the sitting MLA from the BJP in the 2017 Assembly elections.

“I have a strong hold in this constituency. I have worked here for the past three years, but my ticket was denied at the last moment so that I could not join any other political party,” Dhakrey alleged without taking any name. Dhakrey said he had contested the mayoral election from the Bahujan Samaj Party in 2017 and came next only to the BJP candidate, who won the polls. He joined the BJP on March 25, 2019.