BJP’s Punjab unit president and Cabinet Minister Vijay Sampla today said that reports claiming that he has offered to resign from the posts are completely false.
“The reports regarding me (offers to quit as Punjab BJP chief) are false, I had gone for some work,” Sampla told reports after meeting party president Amit Shah here.
Earlier, reports were doing the rounds that Sampla, who is MoS for Social Justice and Empowerment, has offered to step down from the party post as well as that of Cabinet Minister because he was unhappy with the party leadership over ticket distribution for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Sampla, according to reports, was upset with the BJP fielding Som Prakash from Fagwara constituency as he wanted a person of his choice to contest the polls from here.
Expressing his displeasure, Sampla had reportedly said that he will quit the BJP and the ministerial berth if the party top brass doesn't amend its decision of fielding Prakash from Fagwara.
Sampla's ultimatum came hours after the BJP released six more names for the Punjab assembly elections. With announcement of six more names, the party has announced all its 23 candidates out of 117 seats for Punjab, where it is in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)
The saffron party has dropped two ministers in the Punjab government from the list of its remaining six candidates for the state assembly polls, which is scheduled to take place on February 4.
The BJP had on January 12 announced first list of 17 candidates for state assembly polls. The last date of filing the nomination is January 18.
The SAD-BJP alliance is locked in a tough battle with Congress and AAP, which has emerged as a formidable third force in the state.
