Satish Upadhyay’s supporters protest denial of ticket

New Delhi, January 20: Supporters of some BJP leaders, including Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay, on Tuesday protested here after they were denied a ticket by the party for the assembly polls. At the headquarters of the state unit of the Bharatiya Jata Party (BJP), supporters of Upadhyay and party leaders Shikha Rai and Abhay Verma staged protests as the leaders did not figure in the list of 62 candidates released late Monday. Rai had contested the 2013 polls from Kasturba gar constituency but had lost. This time, the BJP has chosen Ravinder Chaudhari for the seat. Similarly, Verma too had fought from Laxmi gar in 2013 but was defeated by former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Vinod Kumar Binny. While the BJP has selected its councillor B.B. Tyagi to contest from the seat this time, Binny, who recently joined the BJP, was shifted to the Patparganj seat. According to reports, Upadhyay expressed his desire to contest from Malviya gar but did not get a ticket. “Satish Upadhyay has a huge responsibility and will not be fighting the election,” BJP general secretary J.P. dda told reporters Monday after releasing the list of 62 candidates. The protesters Tuesday raised slogans in support of both the leaders. Upadhyay, who was present in the party office, pacified his supporters. “I never wanted to contest and we will work together and win the assembly polls,” he said as he politely requested the protesters to leave the party office. Meanwhile, protests also took place in other parts of the city. Supporters of Jai Bhagwan Aggarwal protested in Rohini after the party chose former Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta over the veteran leader. Dhir Singh Bidhuri quit the party after being denied a ticket from Okhla. Delhi goes to the polls Feb 7 and the results will be declared on February 10. (IANS)