Summary
In this single-page statement dated June 8, 1964, M. R. Masani, General Secretary of the Swatantra Party, responds to a report in Organiser quoting Bharatiya Jan Sangh General Secretary Deendayal Upadhyaya. Masani denies that the Swatantra Party had agreed to give the Jan Sangh a prior opportunity to contest a by-election for a seat contested by the Jan Sangh in the 1962 elections. He says the written understanding applied only to vacancies caused by the death, disqualification, or removal of a sitting member, and not to the Bhilwara constituency.
Key points
- Masani rejects Upadhyaya’s allegation that the Swatantra Party violated an electoral understanding.
- He appeals to a written memorandum of agreement between the two parties.
- The agreement, as Masani quotes it, concerned vacancies caused by death, disqualification, or removal of a sitting member.
- Masani argues that the agreement did not apply to the Bhilwara by-election.
- Upadhyaya’s response says the parties had a general understanding but clashed over the Bhilwara Lok Sabha by-election.
- Upadhyaya argues that continued encroachment on each other’s areas of electoral strength would make further clashes difficult to avoid.
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