- Arjit Shashwat Choubey had planned to file nomination as an Independent from Bhagalpur
- He withdrew from the race after a call from his father, former Union Minister Ashwini Choubey
- The BJP candidate for Bhagalpur is Rohit Pandey, who lost the 2020 election by around 1,000 votes
Upset over not getting a BJP ticket for Bihar's Bhagalpur, Arjit Shashwat Choubey, son of former Union Minister Ashwini Choubey, was about to file nomination as an Independent candidate. But a phone call changed everything.
The call came as the candidate has reached the premises of the district collectorate, heavily garlanded and cheered on by supporters. Then the phone rang.
He took the call in front of reporters who waited to speak to him. After short, monosyllabic replies, the candidate turned back, without filing the papers.
Late, Choubey Junior explained the unexpected U-turn.
He said it was his father, Ashwini Choubey, who had called and issued very clear instructions.
"You are in the BJP and will remain in the BJP," he quoted the former minister as saying. The 43-year-old then decided to withdraw from the electoral fray, respecting his father's wishes. Choubey said he has been under constant pressure from the BJP's top leadership since announcing his decision to contest as an Independent.
"Today, my father and even my mother spoke to me. It was instruction from the BJP's top leadership," he told reporters. "How can I disobey them? I cannot rebel against my party and country or turn to oppose them," he added.
There was turmoil in the BJP on Thursday after the party again named Rohit Pandey the candidate. Sharma had lost to Congress's Ajeet Sharma in 2020 by 1 thousand-odd votes.
Arijit Choube had then declared his intention to run as an Independent from the constituency which his father had represented from 1995 to 2010. For the last three terms, Congress's Ajeet Sharma has been representing the constituency of southeastern Bihar in the state assembly.
