BJP DETERMINED TO WIN THIS TIME THE ONLY CONGRESS BASTION CHHINDWARA
By L S Herdenia
BHOPAL: Unexpected and dramatic developments marked the politics of Madhya Pradesh in the past few days. They included minor rift in the state cabinet. difference in the Congress over the selection of candidate for Lok Sabha poll and continued defection from the Congress, According to one estimate, over 16 thousand Congressmen left the party to join the BJP.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav made officials in charge of various Boards and Corporations. This decision was not liked by many ministers because during Shivraj Singh's regime ministers were in charge of Boards and Corporations. Being in charge means enjoying parks and facilities which flow from these so called autonomous organisations..
In another shocker for Congress, one of Kamal Nath's closest aides, Deepak Saxena, quit the party on Thursday, saying he was resigning for personal reasons. Saxena, 69, was twice MLA from Chhindwara and it was he who left his seat for Kamal Nath in 2019 after the veteran leader was elected chief minister.
In separate letters to Nath and state Congress president Jitu Patwari, Saxena recalled his 50-year-long association with Congress. He said he was resigning as he is unable to bear the responsibilities given to him by the party.
Saxena's son Ajay also quit. Though Deepak Saxena said he wouldn't join any other party, his son took primary membership of BJP at the party's state headquarters in Bhopal. He was welcomed by chief minister Mohan Yadav and state BJP president VD Sharma.
Every other day, long-time lieutenants of Kamal Nath are quitting Congress and joining the saffron camp. Speaking to reporters in Chhindwara, minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said, "We are winning Chhindwara 200% this time. And the margin will be more than 5 lakh votes."
For BJP, Chhindwara is more than just a Lok Sabha seat, which it has never won except for the 1997 bypoll when Nath was defeated by Sundarlal Patwa. Chhindwara is the last Congress bastion in Madhya Pradesh, which BJP couldn't win despite the Narendra Modi wave in 2014 and 2019.
This time, BJP is determined to breach the Congress fortress, its. confidence growing with Congress leaders and workers shifting in droves. Such an exodus from Congress had never occurred in Chhindwara.
State BJP media cell chief Ashish Agarwal said, "When leaders, who have been part of an organisation for decades, start quitting with their supporters, it is a clear indication that the game has changed. That is how we are so confident of winning Chhindwara."
First, Kamal Nath's supporter and former MLA from Chourai assembly seat Choudhary Gambhir Singh quit Congress and joined BJP on March 13. Congress spokesman Syed Jaffar quit earlier this week. And now it's Deepak Saxena, who has been at Nath's side ever since he fought the first Lok Sabha polls in 1980.
Apart from this, Congress councillors, who used to be part of Kamal Nath's army in Chhindwara, members of rural civic bodies and scores of party workers have switched to BJP. Kamal Nath is left holding the fort alone while his faithfuls have joined the rival forces.
The Congress removed him as PCC chief and appointed a much younger Jitu Patwari without consulting him. Other than defending Chhindwara, Nath has not been given any major assignment.
Most of those quitting, including Jaffar and Ajay Saxena, claimed that all is not well in Chhindwara after the change from Kamal Nath to son Nakul. Most dissidents say they still regard Kamal Nath as a father figure but are not in agreement with Nakul as Congress candidate.
Several other leaders of Congress, SP and BSP also took membership of BJP on Thursday, including Congress ex-MP from Rewa Devraj Singh, former BSP MLA from Nagod Yadvendra Singh, former Satna Lok Sabha candidate of Congress Sudhir Singh Tomar, former mayor of Satna Pushkar Singh and former retired police IG Rajesh Pataria.
Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh has been asked to contest Lok Sabha poll from Vidisha. He decided to cover the constituency by passenger train. During his journey the other day he was accorded warm welcome by the people. This shows he is still very popular. (IPA Service)
