CHANDIGARH – On the day of coronation of Hoshiarpur MP and Union Minister of state for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla as the new president of the state BJP today, the party indicated that it would seek a bigger share of seats from its alliance partner Akali Dal for the 2017 Assembly elections.
Speaking on the occasion, former Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna and other leaders claimed the party would win all 23 allotted seats. State political affairs incharge Prabhat Jha added the party would contest more seats.
He and other leaders, including Sampla, favoured the continuation of alliance with the Akali Dal, but sought a bigger share in the alliance.
“We want to contest more seats. The central BJP leadership will decide the matter in consultation with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal,” Jha said.
He said party MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu had demanded that 50 per cent of seats allocated to the BJP should be given to women candidates.
Sampla, in his speech, used Indian fables to drive home the point that the party could achieve greater heights only by staying united. He talked about his growth from a labourer in Saudi Arabia to the present position as an example that “there is true democracy in the BJP”.
A video message by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was shown at the ceremony where he mentioned the exception given to Sampla, who now holds two posts. Jaitley described Sampla as a selfless party member who worked for years without any post.
The outgoing president Kamal Sharma said he was the youngest state president and tried his best for the growth of the party.
The ceremony witnessed enthusiastic sloganeering by workers as the party presented a united face. Those present included Kamal Sharma, Prabhat Jha, Avinash Rai Khanna, Tarun Chug, Dinesh Kumar, Madan Mohan Mittal, Surjit Kumar Jyani, Anil Joshi, Bhagat Chunni Lal, Manoranjan Kalia, Ashwani Sharma, Brij Lal Rinva, Rajinder Bhandari, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, Vineet Joshi, Tiksan Sud, Master Mohan Lal and Dinesh Kumar Babbu.
Sampla later met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. He also chaired a meeting of the BJP core group and held meetings with chairpersons of different committees and presidents of district committees.
