Indore (Madhya Pradesh): With just a month to go for voting, BJP and Congress party are finding it hard to decide candidates on 90 odd seats. Interestingly, there are common seats in the state where both the parties have not finalised candidates and are waiting for others to take a lead.
Among the common lot of seats are three constituencies in Indore district. There are six contenders each in BJP and Congress for three seats. While there are two contenders for each seat in Congress, three to four candidates are vying for ticket in BJP on different seats.
Indore-3
City BJP chief Gaurav Ranadive, cultural minister Usha Thakur, IDA vice-chairman Golu Shukla and four-time MLA from Indore-5 Mahendra Hardia are in race for ticket from this seat. While Ranadive has staked claim on the basis of huge presence of Marathi voters, Thakur’s choice to contest remains if she doesn't get ticket from Mhow again. Golu Shukla enjoys support of BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya’s camp. Hardia is ready to move to Indore-3 if denied ticket from Indore-5 for the fifth consecutive time.
As for Congress, Pintu Joshi and Arvind Bagadi are vying to get ticket. As a Brahmin, Sanjay Shukla has been given ticket from Indore-1. Bagadi's supporters are seeking ticket for their leader on the premise that leaders from other community should also be given ticket from this seat. Joshi’s family has strong influence in the constituency. So, his ticket is almost certain.
Indore-5
Gaurav Ranadive, Mahendra Hardia, Nishant Khare
While sitting MLA Hardia and Ranadive are staking claim on, Dr Nishant Khare is not far behind. The four-time MLA, Hardia wishes to get ticket one more time from this constituency whereas Ranadive is counting on backing of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Khare who is close to RSS resides in this constituency and can have a last laugh if above two fail to get ticket.
As for Congress, ex-MLA Satyanaraya Patel and state party vice-president Swapnil Kothari are vying for ticket. While Kothari enjoys former chief minister Kamal Nath's support, Patel is counting on senior leader Digvijaya Singh’s support.
Mhow
Usha Thakur and Dr Nishant Khare are among front-runners. While Thakur is sitting MLA, Khare has a lot of pull with tribals whose presence is considerable. Rajya Sabha member and a local leader Kavita Patidar may also get a ticket.
In Congress, two-time former MLA Antar Singh Darbar and Ramkishore Shukla who quit BJP to join Congress are front-runners. While Darbar is seeking ticket given his good rapport with people, Shukla supporters are seeking fresh face as Darbar is seasoned and lost last three polls.
