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BJP deputes 42 MLAs, 12 ministers for Madhya Pradesh by-elections on 4 seats
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday convened a meeting of the ministers to discuss the by-elections in four constituencies
BHOPAL: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deputed 12 ministers and 42 party lawmakers for by-elections in three assembly seats and a Lok Sabha seat in different regions of the state to win these seats, people familiar with the matter said. Voting is scheduled to take place on October 30, according to an Election Commission announcement on Tuesday.
The BJP, which lost the Damoh assembly election in March this year reportedly due to an internal feud, has formed at least 14 committees to deal with internal differences, ticket distribution, identification of local issues and other important issues to win by-elections on assembly seats in Raigaon in Satna district, Jobat in Alirajpur, Prithvipur in Nimar district and the Khandwa Lok Sabha seat.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a meeting with the ministers on Wednesday night to discuss issues related to the by-polls.
Out of four seats, the Raigaon and Khandwa seats fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Jugal Kishor Bagri and MP Nandkumar Singh, respectively while Jobat and Prithvipur seats have been vacant after the death of Congress MLAs Kalawati Bhuria and Brijendra Pratap Singh, respectively.
“The BJP will not take any risk because it is more of a test of sentiments in different parts of the state,” a senior party leader in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal said.
“The leaders have been told to ensure the implementation of all the central and state government schemes and popularise it. They have also given a task of settling all the internal differences and to send a stern message that they all should support the candidates to be given the party tickets,” the leader.
A second BJP leader said the local leadership is particularly focused on winning Jobat, a tribal seat that has stayed with the Congress for years.
“The party is making extra efforts to win the trust of trials who are not happy with their inclusion among Hindu population… We have announced many schemes for the tribal population including health camps and door-to-door distribution of ration,” said the second leader cited above said.
BJP leaders acknowledge that there may be some resentment over the large number of deaths during the second wave of Covid 19.
“The state government’s image was dented after the second wave of Covid 19,” a third BJP leader said.
BJP state president VD Sharma, said he was confident of the party’s performance. “The BJP will win all the seats as Congress is facing an existential crisis and there is no third option here in MP… The BJP-led state government is trying to bring good governance in the state by improving the system.”
Congress leaders, however, claim that the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was clearly nervous about the outcome.
“We are not facing any crisis but the BJP is surely facing one. More than 10 candidates of BJP are fighting for tickets in all four constituencies. They will lose the election due to internal feud and dissatisfaction of voters,” said MP Congress Committee Spokesperson JP Dhanopia.
Political analyst Girja Shankar said the by-elections were important ahead of the 2023 state elections but emphasized that an emotional factor will also play a major role. “All the seats are vacant due to deaths of the elected representatives so the ticket to family members of the deceased will help the party in winning the seats,” Shankar said.
