Instead of banking on the anti-incumbency factor and complaining about the popularity of BJP stalwarts, the Congress is forming a strategy to “make it uneasy” for BJP Big Ones in their constituencies. To execute this, the party is planning to choose fresh faces and dynamic candidates who are raring to go.
The Congress had used the same formula prepared by the veteran leader DP Rai in 1990. The party is in talks with several fresh faces against BJP stalwarts. In a flashback mode let’s see how it all happened… The present leader of Opposition Ajay Singh contested the election against the then BJP chief minister Sunder Lal Patwa.
Even as Patwa did not lose the election, his winning margin had dropped and the Singh factor had kept Patwa busy in his constituency and he could not go out freely to campaign for other candidates. A similar plot was scripted against the then chief minister Digvijay Singh. Present chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who was an MP then, was pitted against Digvijay Singh in 2003.
Though Chouhan did not win the election, Singh’s winning margin had come down. In 2013, from the Surkhi seat, Parul Sahu a young entrepreneur defeated the two- time Congress MLA Govind Singh Rajput in a tough fight by 141 votes.
For CM Chouhan, Congress may have fielded Arjun Araya from Budhni. Araya is engaged in ground work and has good connect with the locals there.
This time, things are not clear for Gopal Bhargava, the emerging leader Jyoti Patel may be the trump card for the Congress.
Patel is educate and has the support of the OBC community, including Patel and Kurmi. To grab the Sironj seat, the party is planning to put its stake on youth leader Rajat Gour, the brother of former minister Laxmikant Sharma, while Umakant Sharma may get ticket from BJP.
AICC president Rahul Gandhi had taken interviews of some of the young leaders and among them, Amit Sharma’s has also emerged. He may contest election against minister Umashankar Gupta. Another candidate Girish Sharma may get ticket from Govindpura constituency. From the seat, minister Babulal Gour is representing, he is also trying to give the seat to his daughter-in-law Krishna Gour.
There are some seats in the state that have been won by the Congress once or twice in the last 30 years and Kalapipal is one such seat. From the seat, the state Youth Congress president Kunal Choudhary may get a chance to contest.
From Agar, NSUI state president Vipin Vankhede may get ticket.
Sachin Birla may create problems for his opponents if he is given a Congress ticket from Barhwaha. He had contested the 2013 election and received around 62,000 votes. In the 2013 assembly election, more than 25 per cent MLAs were first timers who had won the election for the Congress party.
