The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to play a major gamble in Punjab ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Sources in the known developments informed True Scoop News that the BJP is mulling to field a new contestant from its traditional Hoshairpur seat in Punjab. It means Minister of State for Commerce and Industry of India Som Prakash may not be fielded by the BJP in Lok Sabha Elections from the Hoshairpur seat. While it is said that the BJP is taking this decision keeping the future in mind, multiple on-ground party workers believe that it will be like shooting a bullet in own leg. Many believe that the BJP will surely lose one confirmed seat in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
As per sources, the BJP is mulling over two new names. One of them is an Ex-DGP and another one is a former Congress leader. The former Congress leader is from Delhi and is said to be a close aide of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Notably, amid the murmurs of Som Prakash may not get a Lok Sabha ticket from Hoshairpur, the BJP workers and even its supporters believe that a new candidate may not secure victory for the saffron party.
Notably, Hoshairpur is considered a traditional constituency of the BJP. BJP enjoys a strong footprint in the region. There are four Vidhan Sabha constituencies- Dasuya, Mukerian, Phagwara, and Hoshairpur that are said to be BJP's stronghold. Not only this, the BJP has a stronghold in semi-urban regions like Sham Chaurasi, and Tanda. These regions often act as deciding factors. This is the reason why the BJP thinks that it can perform better in the region even without the alliance of SAD.
However, not fielding Som Prakash from Hoshairpur has made BJP workers unhappy. The workers believe that if the BJP High Command remains persistent in not fielding Som Prakash, then it will be like a 'self-inflicted' injured strategy for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 especially in the backdrop of Punjab.
Notably, in the BJP's first list of candidates for Punjab, there are 3 candidates out of 6 who are from other political parties including Sushil Rinku, Preneet Kaur, and Ravneet Bittu. Sushil Rinku has a good relationship with the BJP workers in Jalandhar. The saffron party has not Lok Sabha Elections in Jalandhar on its own. As a result, the BJP is not facing any opposition from the party workers. However, the same cannot be said in terms of Ludhiana. BJP has filed Ravneet Bittu from Ludhiana.