Datia (Madhya Pradesh): BJP candidate for the Datia by-election Ashutosh Tiwari has said the Congress contestant Ghanshyam Singh has been away from Datia for 18 years and lacks an emotional connection with the people of the district.
Singh fought the previous election from the Sewda constituency, where people defeated him. Now, he tries his luck from Datia. Tiwari made the statement in an informal chat with the Free Press.
The voters of Datia unknowingly defeated Narottam Mishra in the 2023 Vidhan Sabha elections.
The Congress told the electorate that the party would form a government, and two ministers would be from Datia, Tiwari said, adding that the Congress misled the emotional electorate, and Mishra lost the election.
Regarding the BJP's big-team electioneering in the district, Tiwari said party workers come forward to take up the challenge of the election.
Narottam carries out his responsibility in the election because changing a contestant just amounts to a change of responsibility and nothing else, Tiwari said.
Former legislator Rajendra Bharti did not undertake any development work in Datia.
According to Tiwari, the wheels of development have stopped for two and a half years, and he seeks votes to bring Datia back to the track of growth.
BJP candidate weak, govt real challenge: Ghanshyam Singh
Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh has said the BJP candidate lacks strength, and nobody in the constituency even heard his name before he got a ticket.
The government, the administration, and the BJP's organisation pose a challenge, Singh said.
He made the statements in an informal chat with the FP about the Datia by-election.
According to him, the administration has been neutral until now, but he fears the BJP may misuse it in the coming days.
The BJP and the Aazad Samaj Party have played the caste card in the election, Singh said.
About the resentment of former legislator Rajendra Bharti and another contender for a ticket, Abdhesh Nayak, Singh said Bharti himself told the party bosses that none of his family members should get a ticket in the by-poll.
Bharti's illness has kept him away from electioneering, he said, adding that Nayak campaigns regularly.
The word 'pact' has nothing to do with the election because nobody knows what happens tomorrow, he said.
The BJP workers fought on the street during the electioneering, and whenever family members fight among themselves, the opposition takes the advantage, Singh said.
The internal squabbling in the BJP will benefit the Congress, he said.
