After being denied a ticket, Haryana BJP leader Santosh Yadav quits party

Narnaul: Apparently upset over being denied a ticket in the assembly polls in Haryana, BJP's state unit vice president Santosh Yadav quit the party on Tuesday, saying grassroots leaders who have been loyal to the party are being neglected.

Yadav, a former deputy speaker of state assembly, was said to be eyeing a ticket from Ateli constituency, where the BJP has picked Aarti Singh Rao, the daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, as its candidate.

Her resignation comes close on the heels of two other prominent leaders quitting the party ahead of the assembly elections. Haryana minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and MLA Lakshman Dass Napa also left the party after they were denied tickets. Napa has since joined the Congress.

The 90-member assembly is scheduled to go to polls on October 5.

In a letter to state BJP chief, Yadav said that she was resigning from all the party posts as well as from the primary membership of the party.

Yadav, who is also a former MLA from Ateli, wrote that she has been dedicated and loyal member of the party.

"My dedication to the Bharatiya Janata Party has always been unwavering and I have worked following the principles and policies of the party in every situation. But, with great sadness, I have to say that within the party, especially those workers are being neglected who worked with loyalty to strengthen the party at the grassroot level..," she wrote.

She further said that priority is being given to those who have neither worked for the party nor for the people of their assembly constituency. This situation is very unfortunate and it is spreading disappointment and dissatisfaction among the party workers, she said.