‘You could have contacted me’: Jayant Sinha responds to BJP’s show-cause notice for skipping campaigning

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jayant Sinha, who was slapped with a show cause notice from the party for not taking part in campaigning after Manish Jaiswal was declared candidate from the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat, said he was surprised by the move. He clarified that not a single senior party official reached out to him after he announced his decision to not contest the elections in March, and also that the party could have simply reached out to him for campaigning purposes. 

The show cause notice by BJP state general secretary Aditya Sahu stated:  "You are not taking any interest in organisational work and election campaigning ever since the party declared Manish Jaiswal as the candidate from Hazaribag LS seat. You did not even feel proper to exercise your right of franchise. The party's image has been maligned due to your conduct.”

Sinha said he voted through the postal ballot process as he was overseas due to pressing personal commitments. 

"If the party had wanted me to participate in any election activities, you could surely have contacted me. However, not a single senior party official or MP/MLA from Jharkhand reached out to me post my announcement on March 2. I was not invited for any party events, rallies, or organisational meetings," the current BJP MP from Hazaribagh wrote, adding that he had supported Manish Jaiswal as the candidate from Day 1.

"My endorsement was evident when I congratulated Jaiswal ji on March 8, an event that was well-documented on social media and demonstrated my unwavering support for the party's choice," Sinha said. 

Sinha was invited by Jaiswal on April 29 for his nomination rally on May, but Sinha could not attend due to “late notice”. He however, went to Hazaribagh on May 2 and visited Jaiswal at his residence, said Sinha. “He was not present, so I conveyed my message to his family. There was no further contact from Jaiswal ji. I left Hazaribagh on May 3 and returned to Delhi," he said.

The BJP MP said he left India on May 10 after informing the Speaker. "The party had not asked me to participate in any events, so I saw no reason to stay. Before leaving India, I sent my vote through the postal ballot process. Therefore, it is wrong for you to allege that I did not exercise my responsibility to vote," he said in a two-page letter to Sahu.

Sinha said Sahu could have spoken to him on phone any time he wanted to address the issue. He said it is “incomprehensible” why Sahu sent him a letter after the elections got over in the constituency. 

The BJP leader said he would continue to work with the party on economic and governance issues. He highlighted that he would focus on combating climate change in the country and across the world. 

Calling the decision to not contest the elections from Hazaribagh “difficult”, Sinha said he maintained his “political decorum and restraint" he said.

The spat between the BJP leaders came after Sinha’s son, Ashish Sinha, participated in an INDIA bloc rally in Hazaribagh.