BJP's notice to MP Jayant Sinha for skipping campaigning
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party has issued a show cause notice to former Union Minister and MP Jayant Sinha after he did not vote during the fifth phase of polling on Monday.
The notice also claimed that Sinha has not participated in "organizational work and election campaigning," since the party named Manish Jaiswal as its candidate from the Hazaribagh parliamentary seat, Jharkhand.
Sinha—who earlier expressed his desire not to contest general elections—is the sitting MP from the seat.
Party politics
BJP seeks response from Sinha within 2 days
The BJP's State General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Aditya Sahu demanded a response from Sinha within two days.
He is yet to respond to the notice.
To recall, on March 2, Sinha in a post on X, requested BJP chief JP Nadda to "relieve" him of his electoral duties.
Hours later, the BJP announced Jaiswal as its candidate from Hazaribagh, which was once represented by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and later his son, Jayant.
Political shifts
Sinha's son joins opposition
This is the first time since 1998 that no member of Yashwant's family is contesting the elections from Hazaribagh.
Notably, the BJP notice comes just days after Sinha's son Aashir Sinha reportedly joined the Congress.
According to the Indian Express, a member of Yashwant's family has joined the Congress to pull his traditional vote bank, a Congress source said.
However, BJP Spokesperson Vinay Kumar had said that despite "whoever" joins the Congress, the BJP will win the seat.
2024 polls
2 more phases to go
On Monday, 49 constituencies in six states and two union territories went to polls in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections.
The next and penultimate phase, comprising 58 seats, will be held on May 25.
National capital Delhi and neighbouring Haryana will join in for a single-phase polling.
The final phase of polling will be held on June 1 and the votes will be counted on June 4.