The Election Commission of India (ECI) has served notices on nine registered political parties in Rajasthan, including the BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari-led Bharat Vahini Party.
The poll panel issued notices to these parties for their electoral inactivity for the past 6 years. The notices sought replies to two questions: whether they have decided to end their poll activities, and second, whether they have limited area-wise or time-wise participation in the electoral process.
The notices issued on June 26 are returnable within a fortnight, official sources said.
Senior BJP leader and long-serving former Rajasthan Minister Tiwari formed the Bharat Vahini Party in 2018 after parting ways with the saffron party.
Under the banner of his new party, he contested the 2018 state assembly elections from several seats; however, the party drew a blank. He himself suffered a heavy defeat, even losing his security deposit. Since then, the party has not participated in any election.
Tiwari himself joined the Congress, but only for a brief period, as he later returned to the BJP following a word from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Besides the Bharat Vahini Party, the Rajasthan Janta Party, Rashtriya Jansagar Party, Khushhal Kisan Party, Bharatiya Janhitkari Party, Nationalist Jansatta Party, Swachh Bharat Party, Nationalist People’s Front, and Maharana Kranti Party are the other parties that have received notices.