Mandleshwar (Madhya Pradesh): BJP candidate from Maheshwar constituency Rajkumar Meo is battling lack of public support and dissension in party workers. Now, Balai community has decided to open a front against Meo. A delegation of the community visited Bhopal and met assembly constituency in-charge and Union minister Bhupendra Yadav. The delegation, including former MLAs Bhupendra Arya, Krishnakant Rokade, Ritesh Rokade, Pramila Ransore, Kishore Chhatiya, Omprakash Savle, Praveen Bhalekar, Rajesh Sitole, Radheshyam Mandloi and others, shared concerns over lack of adequate representation of Balai community in decision-making processes.
During the meeting, the delegation said that Balai community had 2.50 lakh voters in Khargone district. Maheshwar constituency, the only reserved seat for Scheduled Caste in Khargone, has about 55,000 voters from the Balai community. They said that the party fielded Meo of Khatik community from Maheshwar even though the number of Khatik votes in the constituency was merely 200 to 300 votes. The delegation expressed concern over under-representation of the Balai community despite sizable voter population in Maheshwar Assembly. They emphasized on the need for fair and inclusive representation of all communities in the political decision-making process.
Provided information about anti-RSS statements
One of the delegation member Praveen Bhalekar, said that after being denied party ticket in 2018, Meo had contested the assembly polls as an independent candidate. During poll campaign, he hurled abuses and made derogatory remarks against the party and the Sangh. He had described Sangh as a broker or prostitute for selling tickets. Balekar said that at that time he was working with the Sangh and “was deeply hurt by Meo’s abusive statements.” The Maheshwar assembly constituency is represented by senior Congress leader Dr Vijaylaxmi Sadho after she defeated Meo by margin of 35,836 votes. Dr Sadho got 83,087 votes, while Meo as an independent candidate got 47,251 votes. BJP candidate Bhupendra Arya stood third with 32,601. Many believed that Meo's decision to contest as an independent candidate was a major setback for the BJP in Maheshwar. It was believed that Meo’s support to party candidate would have either resulted in narrowing the defeat margin or win for the BJP.
Unfortunate that society is not represented
On arrival in Maheshwar, the delegation held a media briefing and cleared their stand. They said that they had taken up the matter with state in-charge Bhupendra Yadav. They made it clear that the party had distanced itself from Balai community by ignoring them, which was unfortunate. The delegation further said that Congress always gives priority to Balai community while selecting the candidate thus resulting in its victory. The delegation said that the result would be the same if BJP ignored the Balai community. They added that even Yadav appeared shocked by the data provided by them. He said that the party was completely aware of the protests in Maheshwar and brainstorming was underway to find a meaningful solution.
