The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday issued a show cause notice to party member and former Union minister Jayant Sinha for not “taking any interest” in campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections and other organisational work, The Indian Express reported.
Sinha, who was the MP from Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh constituency since 2014, was denied a ticket to contest from the Lok Sabha constituency this year. The BJP has instead fielded party leader Manish Jaiswal from the seat.
In early March, Sinha had asked BJP chief JP Nadda to relieve him from electoral duties as he wanted to focus on “combating global climate change”.
On Monday, which was also the day of voting for the Hazaribagh seat during the fifth phase of the elections, Jharkhand BJP General Secretary Aditya Sahu told Sinha that the BJP’s image had been tarnished because of his actions and demanded a reply within two days.
“Ever since the party has declared Manish Jaiswal as its candidate from Hazaribagh, you are neither taking interest in election campaigning nor in organisational work,” Sahu said in a letter addressed to Sinha, according to The Indian Express. “Despite this, you did not consider it appropriate to exercise your right to vote in this great festival of democracy.”
Sahu added: “As per the instructions of State President Shri Babulal Marandi, you are requested to give clarification in this regard within two days.”
The notice comes after Sinha’s son, Aashir Sinha, joined the Congress on May 14.
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