BJP's 'chaiwala' candidate from Shimla starts campaign, says...."To get a candidature as a Chaiwala, it is possible only in BJP"

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 22 : A tea seller of Shimla City and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sanjay Sood, kick-started his poll campaign from here on Saturday.
A 57-year-old graduate Sood, a tea-seller by profession, has been given BJP's ticket for Shimla Urban constituency to contest the Himachal Pradesh assembly election. He filed his nomination on Friday.
He has been grabbing all the eyeballs in the hill resort ever since he was given a ticket by the BJP. Sood has been the part of BJP since 1980 and has served in Mandal, Zila and also as a counsellor of Shimla city.
"I am thankful to BJP that they have shown faith in me as a small party worker. As you already said, the party has replaced the minister and I have been given the party's candidate from Shimla Urban. As far as you are talking about the replacement of Minister Suresh Bhardwaj ji, he is our senior leader and the party wants to win all three seats from Shimla organizational district. He is a tall leader and will win the seat and that is the only reason the party has given him to shift to another Assembly constituency and I am sure we shall win these three seats including Shimla Seat," said Sanjay Sood.
"Right from childhood I have been serving as a 'Swayamsewak' and I have been in BJP since 1980 and have served in Mandal, Zila and also as counsellor of Shimla city. Party has given me this honour, I will not be able to pay back for this. I have been running this small tea shop since 1991, this is my workplace and source of livelihood. BJP has shown faith in me; it is possible only in BJP that a tea seller can get a ticket to contest an Assembly election. In this party, a worker gets the post from bottom to top," added Sood.
"Now I am the party's candidate from Shimla. My elder brother is here to look after the tea shop and other businesses here, it is our family business now they shall take care of the tea shop and other jobs as long as I am serving people and busy campaigning, he further added.
We have challenges and will face those; the priority will be the people's priority and as a local and represented city as Councillor. Our government has done lots of development here. I shall carry forward as an MLA in days to come," said BJP's Chaiwala candidate.
The young leadership and workers of the party are happy as a tea-seller has been given the party's ticket and they say that it is possible only in a party like BJP.
"To get a candidature as a Chaiwala, it is possible only in BJP. The party workers and young leaders are hopeful that common workers are given importance in the party. It is a feeling of intimacy with the party and the young workers are fully energized after a tea-seller has been allotted a ticket to fight the Assembly election," said a young BJP leader Karan Nanda.
Sood along with his party workers went for the door-to-door campaign of Himachal Polls.
"We have a family business here. We have this tea stall and a newspaper business as vendors. We are four brothers and are surviving on this business. He has been working to serve the people of society for a long time. Whenever he has to go to serve the people and to work as a party worker we completely spare him from our job," said the elder brother of Sanjay Sood.
If a Chaiwala can become a Prime Minister of our country, it is an honour for us that we are being associated with PM, however, there is no comparison he is on top but we feel delighted as PM once was a tea-seller and my brother has also started his career as Chaiwala. He had earlier served the people of the city and we are hopeful that he shall win," he added.
"It is very good that he has been party's ticket from Shimla. We are associated since childhood, I am working here as a newspaper vendor for many decades now, Sanjay Sood has a Tea stall here and also the business Newspaper we want to see him as MLA and will vote and support him, the rest all is decided by God, we have faith in God," said a Newspaper vendor and Childhood friend of Sanjay Sood.