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BJP rebel candidate Ladulal Pitliya has alleged that he had to withdraw his candidature from Bhilwara’s Sahara Assembly seat following ‘pressure’ on him, his family, and his garments business.
“I had submitted my nomination as an Independent to serve the people of Sahara. But I, and my family, were pressurised, and hence I have withdrawn my papers today [Friday]. I will continue to work in the Sahara Assembly seat…” Pitliya says in a short video.
The bypoll in Sahara was necessitated following the death of Congress MLA Kaliash Chandra Trivedi in October last year due to post Covid–19 complications.
On Friday, Pitliya’s purported audio clip with a supporter and a letter to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot seeking security had gone viral. Pitliya, however, has switched off his mobile phone and could not be reached for confirmation whether he wrote the letter and if the audio clip indeed contains his voice.
Pitliya was denied a ticket by BJP in 2018 and was now overlooked again with the party opting for Ratan Lal Jat, a former minister in the state government.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, Pitlia had garnered 30,573 votes. The votes became the deciding factor in the margin between Congress and BJP. Congress’ Kailash Chandra Trivedi won with 64,420 votes while BJP’s Roop Lal Jat trailed with 58,414 votes. Pitalia, a Jain by caste, had cornered the Jain votes, which traditionally have voted for the BJP. With Pitliya out of the race, BJP now nurses hopes of winning the seat.
In the letter dated March 30, Pitliya, who has a garments business in Bangalore, says that the “BJP government in Karnataka today forcefully shut down all my establishments illegally and my relatives are being threatened that if I don’t withdraw my candidature, they will have to face the music. [They said] we are dangerous people, go ask our opponents who have had to face ED, I-T, CBI.”
Following ‘pressure’ on his establishments in Bangalore, he requested CM Gehlot to provide protection for his family and establishments ‘in Rajasthan and in Karnataka’.
In the call recording, Pitliya says, “There is pressure from above to [make me] withdraw my [nomination] form…what will happen if you grab someone’s throat? When holding a finger didn’t help, they reached for [my] throat. They have tried everything to put pressure on me, and then they started giving trouble to my people…what can I do if my family is in pain.”
Taking to Twitter, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra said, “BJP, which pretends to be moral, is scared of defeat so much that it threatened Independent candidate Ladulal Pitliya ji into withdrawing his candidature.
BJP has crossed all limits of immorality, let’s see what is next.” Responding to Dotasra, BJP state president Satish Poonia said, “Fear is visible in the statements of Ashok Gehlot, who is threatening voters. Your calculations seem to have gone haywire…”
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