The redoubtable matriarch of the Bharatiya Janshakti, Uma Bharti, has refused to accept her defeat in the Tikamgarh assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, alleging rigging. Bharti lost on her home turf to Yadvendra Singh of the Congress by a margin of over 9,000 votes.
She said her party would launch an agitation in a week to protest the ruling party’s alleged misuse of government machinery in the elections. However, she did not elaborate on the agitation plan.
Talking to newspersons late this afternoon, she alleged that billions of rupees were spent on building Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s image, although for the first time in any state a chief minister and his wife were facing legal cases under the Indian Penal Code.
She said the ruling party ensured her defeat by organising rigging at least at 30 polling booths. And despite her complaints to the Election Commission, nothing was done.
Bharti said her party won five seats despite it being only a two-and-a-half-year-old outfit, whereas the BSP was over a two-decade-old party. In fact, she said the BJP should be asked why it had got 30 seats less than in 2003.
When asked if she would like to reconsider her oft-repeated statements in which she dubbed the BJP as ‘fake’ and the her own party as ‘real’, she said victory or defeat did not give credence to any party.
When asked if she would like to reconsider her oft-repeated statements in which she dubbed the BJP as ‘fake’ and the her own party as ‘real’, she said victory or defeat did not give credence to any party.