Shillong, April 20: The state BJP on Monday said it has not offered a party ticket to former Chief Secretary DP Wahlang for the upcoming Shillong Lok Sabha byelection, stating that a remark by senior party leader and Pynthorumkhrah legislator AL Hek on the matter was his “personal statement” and not the party’s decision.
“(We) would like to make it clear that the statement given by AL Hek offering ticket to DP Wahlang, former Chief Secretary, is purely his personal statement and not the decision of the party,” BJP said in a statement.
“No discussion of such an offer has been made amongst the senior leadership of BJP Meghalaya,” it said.
Outlining the party’s candidate selection process, the statement said, “BJP is a rules and process based organization. Allotment of party ticket for any election mandatorily follows certain procedures laid down by the central steering group of the party.”
“Only the central parliamentary board has the authority to select candidates for MP or MLA elections; that too only after the dates have been announced,” it said.
On procedure, the party said, “Wherever an election is announced, be it state Legislative Assembly or Parliamentary, the party invites applications from interested party members and names of all aspirants are recommended by the state election committee to the central parliamentary board. The board then selects the best possible candidate from a list of applicants.”
“Any talk of giving a ticket to someone without following due procedure does not arise in a party like the BJP,” it added.
