The flames of anger have begun to engulf the BJP as well as the Congress before the assembly by-elections.
Former leader of opposition Ajay Singh is against giving tickets to former minister Choudhary Rakesh Singh from Mehgaon. This has kicked up a storm in the Congress.
Former president of MPCC, Suresh Pachouri, tried to make Choudhary active in the Congress and to give him tickets from Mehgaon.
Pachouri organised a meeting between MPCC president Kamal Nath and Choudhary.
As Singh is opposed to giving ticket to Choudhary, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and former minister Govind Singh are siding with the former leader of opposition.
It is because of the internal squabbling that the Congress sees a division between the Thakurs and the Brahmins in Bhind.
Keeping the by-elections on mind, Nath was pulling out all the stops to unite the warring Congress leaders. The issue has again disturbed the unity among in the Congress.
To keep a Brahmin face in front during the by-elections, Nath is giving importance to Pachouri. He, however, does not want to anger Singh. This episode has caused damage to the party.
Choudhary has always been in the Pachouri faction. Choudhary’s brother Mukesh Chaturvedi was a legislator of the BJP, so if the former does not get ticket, he may try to find an alternative.
When Premchand Guddu crossed over to the Congress from the BJP, Nath had to mollify party legislators from Ujjain including former minister Sajjan Singh Verma.
There is opposition to the efforts of Digvijaya and those of Nath to bring some leaders to the party. This may be detrimental to the Congress’s efforts to win the by-elections.
Joshi praises Digvijaya
When former chief minister Digvijaya Singh praised ex-minister Deepak Joshi calling him ‘an upright son of an honest father’, Joshi reciprocated. Joshi said whatever Singh spoke about his father was really appreciable. There is confusion over Joshi. Although Joshi has been made a member of the BJP’s by-election management committee, he is not happy. He is in touch with the Congress leaders.
Side not decided: Kushwaha
A legislator from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Sanjeev Kushwaha, said he did not receive any instruction from the party bosses about whose side he should take in the RS polls. He also said the BJP leaders did not talk to him about it. The BSP legislator, however, said he was with the government for development of his constituency.
