MP: Ahead of candidate list, kin trouble for both BJP, Congress

By Chandrakant Naidu Bhopal: Both the ruling BJP and the Congress are going through internal battles before they face each other in the 25 November electoral war. Though this is a familiar scenario when parties finalise their nominees it points to the infirmities they hide behind a pretentious swagger. Both parties seem to have partially swapped their method of selection this time. The Congress is going by independent surveys conducted at the instance of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the inputs gathered from party workers at the capillary level. The BJP, on the other hand is relying on the discretion of the local leadership even as it weighs the feedback from the Parivar cadre. The BJP is keeping its list on the hold as several incumbents might be dropped to refurbish the part’s sagging image in some constituencies. Some sitting MLAs could be shifted other seats. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP chief Narendra Singh Tomar and organisational general secretary Arvind Menon have drawn up a list which would be presented before the state election committee during a two-day session early next week. This could leave the party’s central leadership with very little time to finalise the names.[caption id=“attachment_1175597” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Searching for the right candidates. Reuters[/caption] Political observers are keenly watching how the party deals with former chief minister Uma Bharti—a known adversary of both Chouhan and Tomar. Uma Bharti had parted with BJP during the previous elections and the five per cent vote share of her outfit, Bharatiya Jan Shakti cost the party heavily. Her return to fold doesn’t guarantee the restoration of balance. Then there are senior leaders promoting their sons. Industries Minister, Kailash Vijayvargiya, is keen to get his son Akash to contest from Mhow in near Indore. Former Union minister Sumitra Mahajan’s son Mandar is among the contenders for a seat in Indore. Rural Development Minister Gopal Bhargava wants his son Abhishek from from Rehli in Sagar district. The party is going through a churn after projecting Narendra Modi as prime ministerial candidate. There is pressure to field some Muslim candidates. Earlier opinion polls for the state had suggested it could end up conceding 21 seats to Congress. Little has changed in favour of the BJP since then, while the Congress has gained, if only marginally. The BJP is still ahead in the race unless its selections cause large-scale resentment among party members and voters. The party is conscious of diminishing support since it assumed power under Uma Bharti in 2003 with a record 173 seats. In 2008 it won 143 and projections for the upcoming poll put the tally at 120 just helping it cross the finish line. The Congress that was reduced to a paltry 38 in 2003, progressed to 71 in 2008 and it has been projected to cross 90 this year. The Congress had promised to release its list by July-end to give its candidates enough time to nurse their constituencies. It is still dithering over the matter. The promise of unity has given way to wrangling for factional supremacy. The campaign committee leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and Union minister, Kamal Nath, were kept out of the screening committee meeting as they are not its members. This gave a free play to the dominant Digvijaya Singh group represented by the leader of the opposition Ajay Singh and PCC chief Kantilal Bhuria. The issue was, however, downplayed as the lists will finally be cleared by the central parliamentary board and Rahul Gandhi could veto any disputed selections. Scindia has seized a chance to show his strength through Rahul Gandhi’s week-long tour in Madhya Pradesh. The screening committee headed by former Gujarat MP Madhusudan Mistry has also been under pressure to nominate relatives of influential leaders. Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh has been pressing for his son, Jaivardhan Singh from Raghogarh. Jaiwardhan has already been campaigning in the constituency after Mool Singh, the incumbent MLA, refused re-nomination due to “health reasons”. Scindia’s close associate Satyavrat Chaturvedi wants to launch his son Nitin, while former speaker of the Assembly Srinivas Tiwari wants party nomination for both his son Sunderlal and grandson Vivek. Bhuria was also keen to get his son Vikrant fielded from Thandla. The junior Bhuria has, however, offered to work for the organisation. Both parties might now release their lists simultaneously.