This Bihar BJP Leader Went To File Nomination As Independent, But One Phone Call Stopped Him
BJP's Arjit Choubey had gone to file nomination papers as an Independent candidate from the Bhagalpur seat, which has been a Congress stronghold for the past three terms.
Dramatic scenes unfolded in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections when Arjit Shashwat Choubey, son of former Union Minister Ashwini Choubey, withdrew his plan to contest as an Independent candidate from Bhagalpur just moments before filing his nomination. The reason—a single phone call from his father.
Choubey, who had arrived at the Bhagalpur district collectorate surrounded by supporters and sporting garlands, seemed fully prepared to enter the electoral fray against his party’s official candidate. However, as he was about to submit his nomination papers, his phone rang. The short conversation that followed changed everything.
'Can't Rebel Against My Party'
Speaking later to the press, the 43-year-old BJP leader revealed that it was his father on the line, delivering a firm message. “You are in the BJP and will remain in the BJP,” Ashwini Choubey reportedly told his son. Respecting his father’s directive, Arjit Shashwat turned back without filing his papers, NDTV reported.
He admitted that the decision came after days of pressure from the BJP’s senior leadership, who had urged him not to go against the party line. “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.
Choubey Had Announced Plan To Contest As Independent
The political drama began after the BJP once again fielded Rohit Pandey as its candidate for Bhagalpur, sidelining Choubey Jr, who had lost the seat in the 2020 Assembly election to Congress’s Ajeet Sharma by a margin of just over a thousand votes.
Disappointed by the decision, Arjit Shashwat had announced plans to contest as an Independent from the constituency that his father had represented from 1995 to 2010. However, with the latest twist, the younger Choubey’s brief rebellion has ended, reaffirming his allegiance to the BJP.
Bhagalpur, a key constituency in southeastern Bihar, has been witness to intense political rivalries. For the past three terms, Congress leader Ajeet Sharma has held the seat, making it one of the party’s strongholds in the state.
Polling for the Bihar elections 2025 will take place on November 6 and 11. The results will be announced on November 14.
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