BJP suspends party rebel for contesting Ramgarh bypoll

Ramgarh: BJP on Monday suspended its rebel and independent candidate for the Ramgarh bypoll, Dhananjay Kumar Putush, for six years from the primary membership on disciplinary grounds.The BJP action came after the directives of the party’s state president Deepak Prakash. Putush, who had held positions in the farmers’ wing and the IT cell of the party’s state committee, filed his nomination for the bypoll against the NDA-backed Ajsu Party candidate, Sunita Choudhary. The letter of suspension for Putush was issued by BJP Jharkhand general secretary Balmukund Sahay. The letter said the decision to against the party line is a serious form of indiscipline. Putush said he still has not received the suspension letter and his decision to contest the bypoll remained unchanged.During the Covid pandemic, Putush along with his school alumni provided free medicines, milk, fruits and grocery for several months for which he became popular as the “medicine man” of Ramgarh. He is now among the 18 candidates in the fray for the bypoll.Poll analyists, however, said it would be two-corner fight between NDA’s Choudhary, the wife of Ajsu-P’s Giridih MP Chandra Prakash Choudhary, and UPA-backed Congress candidate Bajrang Mahto, the husband of disqualified MLA Mamta Devi.Praveen Mehta, the district president of Ramgarh BJP, who released the suspension letter to the media said the saffron party has decided not to field a party candidate in bypoll but extend support to Chaudhary.