With the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress are facing intense pressure from aspirants for party tickets, leading to speculation about the possibility of both parties facing rebellion from within.

Both the BJP an the Congress have been engaged in an exercise to shortlist their candidates to contest the 90 seats in the state Assembly, but a clear picture is yet to emerge because of an almost ten-fold increase in the number of aspirants from both parties.

The number of aspirants for BJP tickets swelled, particularly after its senior leaders dropped hints that the party could deny tickets to a number of its sitting legislators, including ministers, in order to beat the anti-incumbency factor. Talk about the BJP adopting the ‘Modi formula” of bringing in new faces to replace its “unpopular legislators” has left many leaders in a dilemma. Worried over the possibility of sabotage during the elections, the BJP is working out strategies to deal with any such situation, with party president Rajnath Singh recently visiting the state capital to guide their leaders about the need for intra-party discipline.

On the other hand, with almost a thousand aspirants vying for party tickets, infighting is at its peak within the Congress, as its leaders are lobbying to get the maximum number of tickets for their supporters. However, State Congress working president Satya Narayan Sharma told The Indian Express that the party has narrowed down its candidates for 50 constituencies. “Winning prospects is the only criteria for tickets,” he said.

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