The BJP overlooked several high-profile claimants and picked a long-time party worker as Noida candidate Tuesday, releasing a list of contestants for the September 13 bypolls in Uttar Pradesh.

The omission of Pankaj Singh, son of union home minister Rajnath Singh, seen as the frontrunner for the seat, surprised many. The party instead showed faith in 62-year-old Vimla Batham, an industrialist who has been with the BJP for 25 years.

A section of the party sees it as yet another example of declining clout of Rajnath, the former BJP chief. In denying ticket to Pankaj, the party was sending out a bigger political message, they feel. “With the change of guard at the top, Rajnath Singh’s influence within the party has decreased,” a party leader said.

A reference perhaps also to the home minister’s reportedly diminished role in the appointment of senior officers.

But, not everyone agrees. “Given that most of the party workers favoured a local candidate, Pankaj must have lost out being an outsider,” a senior UP party leader said on condition of anonymity.


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