Delhi BJP rift out in the open

New Delhi: The differences within senior local BJP leaders came out in the open once again when Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma indulged in a heated argument during a roadshow in Najafgarh.

Ahead of the April 23 civic polls, Mr Tiwari is conducting “Vijay Vikas Yatra” in seven Lok Sabha constituencies. On Monday, during the second phase of his roadshow, Mr Tiwari campaigned in Gopal Nagar, Dichaon Kalan, Najafgarh, Roshanpura, Ranhola, Vikaspuri, Hastsal, Sainik Enclave, and Vikas Nagar wards.

During the yatra, Mr Tiwari’s cavalcade had to pass through unpopulated stretches. Miffed by this, the Delhi BJP chief became angry and reprimanded Mr Verma for the selection of inappropriate route for the roadshow.

Party leaders present in the roadshow said that unhappy with the poor selection of route and for having wasted over two hours on unpopulated stretches, Mr Tiwari pulled up Mr Verma. This soon turned out into a heated argument.

“Both the leaders exchanged unkind words. Mr Tiwari was heard saying that they have lost more than two hours on these unpopulated stretches,” they said. However, Mr Verma defended the local unit’s choice of campaign route. According to sources, Mr Tiwari was also unhappy for not including Poorvanchali dominated areas in the roadshow.

 “During the roadshow, ignoring the Poorvanchali dominated areas, where Mr Tiwari has huge popularity and fan following due to his celebrity status, was a blunder in their planning. Mr Tiwari also pointed out this mistake,” they added.

On April 2, while finalising the party’s candidates for the civic polls, Mr Tiwari and Mr Verma had had heated arguments. Sources said that three BJP Lok Sabha members from the city including Mr Verma were most vocal in raising their voices and blamed Mr Tiwari and the state general secretary (organisation) Mr Sidharthan for allegedly silencing their says in the matter of ticket distribution.