BJP's Punjab chief Jakhar questions Chadha's 'absence'; CM Mann tells him to focus on his own party

The BJP's Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar on Monday questioned the ''absence'' of AAP leader Raghav Chadha ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, prompting Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to advise him to focus on his own party.

In Punjab, polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats will be held on June 1.

Jakhar said in a post in Hindi on X, ''In this politically charged atmosphere, lots of reasons are being attributed to the intriguing absence of Raghav Chadha. The silence of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann on this has only lent credence to such insinuations.'' Later, in a statement, Jakhar asked Mann to come clean on the issue.

''Raghav ji has been the apple of Kejriwal's eye, so much so that he has been acting as the 'super chief minister' in Punjab, demeaning elected Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Now, his removal from the scene with parliamentary polls already announced raises genuine doubts about rumblings within the AAP,'' Jakhar said in the statement.

''If there is some health issue, I wish Raghav ji a speedy recovery,'' Jakhar further said.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Chadha will undergo a vitrectomy in the UK to prevent retinal detachment of the eye, party sources said on Saturday.

Jakhar also claimed that ''infighting'' within the AAP will force the party to change its candidates on eight seats.

''You will see a change of candidates on most of these seats as the faces announced have been rejected by their party cadre,'' he said.

He further alleged a ''secret'' tie-up between the AAP and the Congress in Punjab and said both parties must declare their formal alliance and stop assuming that Punjabis are ignorant of their ''surreptitious deal'' to loot the state.

The AAP is contesting the Lok Sabha polls in an alliance with the Congress in Delhi, Gujarat and Haryana. However, it is independently contesting 13 seats in Punjab and two in Assam. Mann, in response, took a swipe at the BJP leader and said, ''Jakhar sahib, be concerned about the party you are in these days. Moreover, tell journalists which party I (Jakhar) am speaking for.'' According to the AAP sources, Chadha's condition -- characterised by the development of small holes in the retina -- poses a significant threat to his eyesight and requires immediate intervention to prevent irreversible damage. Polling for the 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases, starting with the first phase on April 19. The votes will be counted on June 4.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)