Daijiworld Media Network – Bhagalpur

Bhagalpur, Oct 19: In a dramatic turn of events, Arjit Shashwat Choubey, son of former Union Minister Ashwini Choubey, withdrew his decision to contest as an Independent candidate from Bihar’s Bhagalpur constituency after a phone call from his father moments before filing his nomination papers.

The 43-year-old BJP leader, upset over being denied a party ticket, had reached the Bhagalpur district collectorate on Friday, surrounded by cheering supporters and draped in garlands, ready to submit his nomination papers. But just as he arrived, his phone rang.

Taking the call-in front of reporters, Arjit Shashwat was seen giving short, one-word replies before abruptly turning back without filing his papers. Soon after, he revealed that the call had come from his father, senior BJP leader Ashwini Choubey.

“My father told me clearly, ‘You are in the BJP and will remain in the BJP,’” Arjit said while speaking to the media later. “Today, both my father and mother spoke to me. It was also an instruction from the party’s top leadership. How can I disobey them? I cannot rebel against my party or my country,” he added.

The younger Choubey had earlier announced his decision to contest independently after the BJP renominated Rohit Pandey as its candidate for Bhagalpur. The decision had triggered internal dissent within the party’s local unit.

Ashwini Choubey, who had represented Bhagalpur in the Bihar Assembly from 1995 to 2010 before moving to national politics, is believed to have intervened personally to prevent a possible split in the BJP’s vote base.

For the past three terms, the Bhagalpur constituency has been represented by Congress MLA Ajeet Sharma, who defeated Rohit Pandey in the 2020 assembly elections by a narrow margin of just over 1,000 votes.

With Arjit’s withdrawal, the BJP has avoided a potential rebellion in one of its key strongholds, bringing temporary relief to the party’s leadership ahead of the state elections.