Narmadapuram (Madhya Pradesh): The BJP and the Congress have declared their candidates from all the four assembly constituencies. The protestors are also talking about forming a third front, and if it happens, it will have an impact on the poll outcome.
He disgruntled elements in both the parties and wanted a change of candidates. According to reports, the Congress high command is mulling over changing some candidates, because the protest has reached its acme.
There is resentment among grass-roots workers of the party, after the BJP gave a ticket to its present legislator Prem Shanker Verma from Seoni Malwa.
The angry party workers have begun to contact the senior leaders of the party demanding them to change the candidate and give a ticket to someone who is well-connected with the people and financially sound.
The Congress has fielded a young candidate and councillor of Nagar Palika, Ajay Patel, from Seoni Malwa. Nevertheless, former legislator Om Raghuwanshi and Sudhir Patel met Kamal Nath and demanded him to change the candidate.
People do not know the candidate, and he does not have enough party workers to stand by him, so the Congress leadership should think about the poll outcome, they told Nath. The three-time legislator of the BJP from Hoshangabad and former Speaker Sitasaran Sharma has been given a ticket again.
Congress has fielded Sharma’s brother Girija Shankar Sharma who recently left the BJP and took the Congress membership. On an earlier occasion, he defected to the BJP, but returned to the party. The Congress workers have been protesting against giving him a ticket.
The Congress workers are angry with the party leadership. They said that the survey reports had been set aside at the time of distributing tickets. The disgruntled elements in the party are talking about opening a third front. The Congress has given a ticket to the party’s district unit president Pushpraj Patel from Sohagpur.
Nevertheless, Satpal Palia, who fought the last election on behalf of the Congress and lost it, hoped that he would get a ticket this time. Palia protested against giving a ticket to Patel.
The Congress high command is mulling over changing the candidate. But if Palia does not get a chance, he may fight the election as an independent candidate. The BJP has again fielded Thakurdas Nagwanshi from Pipariya assembly constituency.
He is facing protests in rural areas of this constituency. The residents of Umardha village did not allow him to enter there, besides he had to face the ire of voters in Gadarwara Khurd. The villagers said the legislator did not do any development work in the village.
The Congress has fielded Gurcharan Khare from this constituency. Khare is facing the problem of being an outsider, since he is from Chhindwara. The Congress workers staged a sit-in outside MPCC president Kamal Nath’s residence in Chhindwara.
The issue went to Nath and to the party high command in Delhi. According to sources in the Congress, the party candidate from Pipariya may be changed after Rahul Gandhi’s interference.
With inputs from Surinder Singh Arora
