Rebellion hit the ruling BJP in Haryana on Thursday as a minister and an MLA, among others, quit the party over the denial of tickets to contest the Assembly polls, signalling the top leadership’s weakening grip on the party after the lacklustre Lok Sabha results.

The BJP had witnessed a similar rebellion in Jammu and Kashmir last week after the announcement of the candidate list. Large sections of the party’s rank and file had come out in protest, leaving the cadre-based and ideology-driven party red-faced.

The polls in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana are the first to be held after the parliamentary elections that saw the BJP’s Lok Sabha seats tally dip substantially below the majority mark. The scale of the rebellion in the two states has sparked concern in the party leadership. Sections of BJP leaders attributed the rebellion to the party’s below-par performance in the national elections and feared that similar developments could hit other states as well.

In Haryana, energy and jails minister Ranjit Chautala and MLA Lakshman Dass Napa quit the party to protest the denial of tickets. The BJP on Wednesday put out the first list of 67 candidates for the 90-member Assembly, dropping nine sitting MLAs, including some ministers. The two-term BJP government is facing an uphill task to retain power in the state scheduled to vote on October 5.

Chautala, 79, the son of former Prime Minister Devi Lal, held a meeting with his supporters after quitting the BJP and announced that he would contest as an Independent from the Rania Assembly seat. “Whoever has advised them (the BJP leadership) has caused damage to the party,” he told reporters.

Sitting MLA Napa met Congress stalwart and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and announced his decision to join the Opposition party. “I will now join the Congress,” the Dalit MLA told reporters.

Another key leader who rebelled was former minister Karan Dev Kamboj, heading the party’s state OBC Morcha. “The Congress culture has come into the BJP as well. Genuine party workers are being ignored while defectors from other parties are being rewarded,” Kamboj told reporters, announcing his decision to quit from all party posts while recalling how he had been with the BJP since the Jan Sangh days.

The convener of the Haryana BJP’s trade cell, Naveen Goyal, also resigned from the party and said he would contest as an Independent from Gurgaon.

After Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, Assembly polls are due in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The outcome of these state polls would impact the credibility of the Narendra Modi government, which has already been seen succumbing to pressure from the Opposition and allies.

Out of the poll-bound states, the BJP rules directly in Haryana and indirectly in Maharashtra while the Opposition is in power in Jharkhand. Reports from the ground suggest that the BJP is not confident of retaining or snatching power in any of the three states.