BJP Faces Rebellion: Three Senior Leaders Suspended in Jammu and Kashmir

Three senior BJP leaders—Pawan Khajuria, Balwan Singh, and Narinder Singh Bhau—were suspended for contesting assembly elections against the party's official candidates in Jammu and Kashmir. The suspension was based on the recommendation of a disciplinary committee. The BJP has been dealing with significant internal rebellion in various constituencies.

In a significant development on Wednesday, three senior BJP leaders—Pawan Khajuria, Balwan Singh, and Narinder Singh Bhau—were suspended for contesting against the party's official candidates in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. The decision came in the wake of recommendations from a disciplinary committee headed by Sunil Sethi, a party spokesman confirmed.

Khajuria ran as an independent candidate, while Singh represented the National Panthers Party (NPP) from the Udhampur East assembly segment, where the BJP had fielded former MLA R S Pathania. On the other hand, Bhau contested as an independent from the Chhamb constituency of Jammu, against the BJP's candidate and former MLA Rajeev Kumar. Interestingly, senior Congress leader and former deputy chief minister Tara Chand is also vying for the Chhamb seat.

The BJP spokesman further stated that the party's working president, Sat Paul Sharma, ordered the suspension of these leaders due to their 'act of indiscipline'. The internal rebellion has seen several prominent leaders resigning and multiple members contesting as independents across nearly a dozen assembly constituencies.

(With inputs from agencies.)