Tweet
BJP, Cong stalwarts engaged in titanic battle in MP
Both the BJP and the Congress have gone all out to counter their opponents in their preparations for the Assembly poll in the State in 2013, writes Girish Sharma
Madhya Pradesh is witnessing a titanic battle among the BJP and Congress stalwarts. A confident and ambitious State BJP chief Prabhat Jha is working on a plan that envisages checkmating Congress bigwigs in their respective strongholds.
As part of a well-thought out strategy, Jha is hoping to corner senior Congress leaders in their own bastions. The State BJP chief has started implementing the party's strategy by visiting the constituencies of State Congress president Kantilal Bhuria and senior Congress legislator Govind Singh.
Soon after Bhuria was appointed as PCC chief, Jha had visited Bhuria's hometown Jobat in Jhabua district. By convening a public meeting in Ratlam, Jha had clearly signaled that the BJP is not going to be afraid of AICC's strategy to appoint a tribal leader as the PCC chief. Bhuria represents Ratlam constituency of Madhya Pradesh in the Lok Sabha.
Around two months, ago Jha had visited Lahar in Bhind district, the Assembly constituency of Govind Singh. This was for the first time that a senior BJP leader had challenged Singh in his constituency by convening a party workers' meeting there. Singh is five-term legislator from the same seat.
In December, 2009, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in view of targeting the 2013 Assembly election, had shouldered responsibilities of defeated constituencies to different leaders of the party.
In the exercise, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was given responsibility of Bhopal North constituency, from where the only Congress legislator of Bhopal Arif Aqueel had emerged victorious.
However, the Chief Minister and his colleagues are unable to devote time for the defeated constituencies, as they are busy in maintaining rapport with the people in their own constituencies. The party organisation time and again also told the Ministers that in view of Assembly election, they should maintain direct dialogues with the party workers and people in their constituencies so that descent among them could be checked.
In such a situation, the Ministers are unable to decide whether they have to concentrate on their own constituencies or visit the defeated Assembly segments. Similar is the situation with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, as in the past one year he could not spare time to convene any meeting in Bhopal North constituency.
The party has already declared Alok Sharma as party's candidate in the next Assembly election from Bhopal North. Sharma was defeated by Aqueel in 2008. Party sources claim that Sharma had declined to accept the decision of the party as contesting polls against Aqueel is difficult in the constituency where most of the votes are Muslims and if he gets defeated this time, his political career would come to an end.
When the Ministers are finding it difficult to devote time for defeated constituencies, Jha has decided to face the challenge and he is alone visiting the defeated constituencies. On December 31, in view of wooing the tribals, he decided to celebrate New Year among the tribals in Jhabua district.
On January 1, he addressed a meeting of party workers in Dotad village of Ranapur division of Jhabua district and informed them about the Government schemes. He called upon the workers to take the message of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the masses and ensure that people in the far-flung villages get benefited with the Government schemes.
On the occasion, sarpanch of Wagai village Nabbu Singh Bariya and Somai Janpad member Sursingh Hatila of the Congress joined the BJP in the presence of Jha.
Puzzled with this unexpected move, the Madhya Pradesh Congress has decided to review the situation under which both the local leaders joined the BJP by quitting the Congress. It has come out as a jolt to the Congress in Jhabua, which is considered a stronghold of Congress as all the three legislators in the region are from the Congress.
What is interesting is that Jha seems influenced by Congress leader late Rajiv Gandhi's strategy adopted in the 1984 general election. Rajiv had pitted Madhavrao Scindia against Atal Bihari Vajpayee and actor Amitabh Bachchan against veteran Hemwati Nandan Bahugana. Both Vajpayee and Bahuguna had lost as Rajiv had benefited from a "sympathy wave" following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The ruling BJP in the State is making all out efforts to repeat its Government for the third term. Similarly, the main opposition in the State Assembly, the Congress is also striving hard to regain power after two terms.
Both the BJP and the Congress have gone all out to counter their opponents in their preparations for the Assembly poll in the State in 2013, writes Girish Sharma
Madhya Pradesh is witnessing a titanic battle among the BJP and Congress stalwarts. A confident and ambitious State BJP chief Prabhat Jha is working on a plan that envisages checkmating Congress bigwigs in their respective strongholds.
As part of a well-thought out strategy, Jha is hoping to corner senior Congress leaders in their own bastions. The State BJP chief has started implementing the party's strategy by visiting the constituencies of State Congress president Kantilal Bhuria and senior Congress legislator Govind Singh.
Soon after Bhuria was appointed as PCC chief, Jha had visited Bhuria's hometown Jobat in Jhabua district. By convening a public meeting in Ratlam, Jha had clearly signaled that the BJP is not going to be afraid of AICC's strategy to appoint a tribal leader as the PCC chief. Bhuria represents Ratlam constituency of Madhya Pradesh in the Lok Sabha.
Around two months, ago Jha had visited Lahar in Bhind district, the Assembly constituency of Govind Singh. This was for the first time that a senior BJP leader had challenged Singh in his constituency by convening a party workers' meeting there. Singh is five-term legislator from the same seat.
In December, 2009, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in view of targeting the 2013 Assembly election, had shouldered responsibilities of defeated constituencies to different leaders of the party.
In the exercise, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was given responsibility of Bhopal North constituency, from where the only Congress legislator of Bhopal Arif Aqueel had emerged victorious.
However, the Chief Minister and his colleagues are unable to devote time for the defeated constituencies, as they are busy in maintaining rapport with the people in their own constituencies. The party organisation time and again also told the Ministers that in view of Assembly election, they should maintain direct dialogues with the party workers and people in their constituencies so that descent among them could be checked.
In such a situation, the Ministers are unable to decide whether they have to concentrate on their own constituencies or visit the defeated Assembly segments. Similar is the situation with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, as in the past one year he could not spare time to convene any meeting in Bhopal North constituency.
The party has already declared Alok Sharma as party's candidate in the next Assembly election from Bhopal North. Sharma was defeated by Aqueel in 2008. Party sources claim that Sharma had declined to accept the decision of the party as contesting polls against Aqueel is difficult in the constituency where most of the votes are Muslims and if he gets defeated this time, his political career would come to an end.
When the Ministers are finding it difficult to devote time for defeated constituencies, Jha has decided to face the challenge and he is alone visiting the defeated constituencies. On December 31, in view of wooing the tribals, he decided to celebrate New Year among the tribals in Jhabua district.
On January 1, he addressed a meeting of party workers in Dotad village of Ranapur division of Jhabua district and informed them about the Government schemes. He called upon the workers to take the message of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the masses and ensure that people in the far-flung villages get benefited with the Government schemes.
On the occasion, sarpanch of Wagai village Nabbu Singh Bariya and Somai Janpad member Sursingh Hatila of the Congress joined the BJP in the presence of Jha.
Puzzled with this unexpected move, the Madhya Pradesh Congress has decided to review the situation under which both the local leaders joined the BJP by quitting the Congress. It has come out as a jolt to the Congress in Jhabua, which is considered a stronghold of Congress as all the three legislators in the region are from the Congress.
What is interesting is that Jha seems influenced by Congress leader late Rajiv Gandhi's strategy adopted in the 1984 general election. Rajiv had pitted Madhavrao Scindia against Atal Bihari Vajpayee and actor Amitabh Bachchan against veteran Hemwati Nandan Bahugana. Both Vajpayee and Bahuguna had lost as Rajiv had benefited from a "sympathy wave" following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The ruling BJP in the State is making all out efforts to repeat its Government for the third term. Similarly, the main opposition in the State Assembly, the Congress is also striving hard to regain power after two terms.
