Corporators of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) from the major parties, congress and the Bharatiya janata party (BJP) are lobbying for the tickets to turn their dreams of making it to the state assembly into reality. This is not the first time when corporators have made it big in state and national politics, as the sitting mayor, sitting parliamentarian and two ministers, who come from Bhopal have once been corproators. If allotted tickets, these new faces have the plans for the city ranging from providing basic amenities to residents, exposing the wrongs of MLAs and even to teach some MLAs a lesson.
Krishna Mohan Soni– He said that he is a very old member of the BJP and hence should be trusted as he can develop the areas of central seat. The areas are heavily encroached and that he was born there he can develop it as he understands the area better than any outsider. Soni further said that I am a contender from central as well as the south constituency for which I have a service record which the party should consider while distributing tickets in the polls.
Manoj Rathore says that he has won the seat in the area where no BJP candidate has won ever since the independence. If BJP gives me a chance to contest the elections from the south seat, I will correct all the wrongs done in the last 25 years by the sitting MLA Arif Aqeel. I will also expose his irregularities done by Aqeel in his tenure, he added.
Girish Sharma- He is aspiring for a ticket from Congress. He said that he will focus on what has to be done instead of what the previous MLA has done. I have made a plan for the constituency- I have classified it in four zones. Each zone will be developed as per the specified strategy as water and sanitation issues need to be addressed in a different way while the issue of illegal colonies need a different approach, he added.
Santosh Kasana– district president of Congress and the only woman corporator who is held as having the potential to be a contender in the polls from Congress party, said that the whole area is deprived of the required development as the local MLA who is also a minister has failed to provide even the basic facilities. I will also ensure that names of 70, 000 contituents which were earlier removed from the list of ration card be added again, if I get the chance to serve the south-west constituency, she added.
Shyam Singh Meena– I will contest as an independent candidate, if the incumbent MLA Rameshwar Sharma contests the polls. He is the man who has caused heavy loss to the entire area hence I want to teach him lesson in the assembly polls, he said.
Asif Zaki, who is husband of corporator Shabista Zaki said that he aspires to be a Congress MLA. He said the areas under the central assembly seat lacks hospitals and colleges. He said that state-run clinics and institutions will be set up in the areas that fall under the central constituency if he gets a chance in the elections.
Praveen Saxena– Another aspirant of a Congress ticket, husband of corporator Seema Saxena said that the even the basic amenities are lacking in the assembly seat which he is aspiring to represent. He said that even the rich persons in the area face issues such as water and basic amenities.
