The Bharatiya Janata party has turned the campaign for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh by-elections into a contest between the “son of the earth” Shivraj Singh and the “businessman” Kamal Nath.
Congressional Leader Dinesh Gurjar’s “Bhookhe-Nange” mockery of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has given the BJP the arsenal to accuse Congress of being anti-poor.
VD Sharma, chairman of the BJP state unit, told HT that the statement reflects how distant Congress is and the contempt its leaders have for the poor.
“We go to people with a simple message that Kamal Nath is not a public figure, he is a ‘Udyogpati’ (businessman) who came to Madhya Pradesh to fill their coffers. He is not a leader, but just a manager who was a ‘darbari’ (courtier) to Congress and the Gandhi family. The campaign uncovers the five months of misrule by the Kamal Nath government in the state, ”said Sharma.
At campaign rallies and outreach through social media, the BJP has been alleging that the Kamal Nath government transferred schemes aimed at statewide development to its own constituency in Chhindwara.
“Take the case of an agricultural school that was sanctioned for the Bundelkhand area, it was forcibly transferred to Chhindwara. A Rs 1400 crore super specialty medical college and irrigation projects targeting Bundelkhand and Bhind were also transferred to Chhindwara, and 2.43 lakh houses could not be built under Prime Minister Awas Yojana because the state government refused to release his share of 24% of the funds his construction, ”said Sharma.
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Legislative elections will be held in the state on November 3 to fill 28 seats in the legislative assembly. Of these 28 vacancies, 22 arose after the Congressional MLAs along with Congressional Leader and former Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia separated from the Kamal Nath government and joined the BJP.
The BJP, which has 107 MLAs, needs 9 more to reach halfway through the chamber, while Congress with 88 needs to win all 28 seats if it hopes to return to power.
On how the party will defend the government’s Covid-19 containment response and the large-scale movement of migrant workers during the pandemic, Sharma said, the state would have been worse off if Congress had been in power.
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“Quick steps were taken to ensure that hospitals are equipped and there is a supply of drugs and oxygen. In five months, Rs 22 billion was transferred to farmers; likewise, the social assistance plans interrupted by Kamal Nath were restarted, so there is no anger against the government, ”he said.
According to officials involved in the electoral process, the BJP has set itself the goal of winning more than 25 seats to give the government the cushion it needs to formulate policies without requiring the support of independent parties or friends.
“Campaigns are being carried out in all electoral districts, taking into account the Covid protocol. But our Panna Pramukhs have been tasked with ensuring that people go out to vote in large numbers. They have been tasked with alleviating the fear that voters may have about voting during the pandemic, ”Sharma said.
Political analysts Shirish Kashikar said the mockery of Chauhan will work in favor of the BJP. “While the party will definitely benefit from highlighting this mockery; Scindia’s goodwill in the region is an important factor that will help the party win electorally, ”he said.
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