FARRUKHABAD, May 26: For Prabha Dwivedi, the widow of former BJP minister Brahma Dutt Dwivedi, it has been a momentous electoral debut. Thrown into the fray as the BJP candidate for the Farrukhabad Assembly by-elections after her husband was murdered, she found herself pitted against none other than Vijay Singh, one of the main accused in the case.But now, her straight-forward campaigning she does this without whipping up passions using fiery rhetoric seems to have scared off Singh, who opted out ostensibly to clear the way for the common UF and Congress candidate, Lal Bahadur Singh Shakya.Since Dwivedi, the Energy Minister in the Kalyan Singh's Government in 1991, was instrumental in the BJP's decision to lend support to the Mayawati Government in 1995, she inducted his widow as Labour Minister in her Cabinet after coming to power two months back. Prabha was then a retired Class II officer in the State Education Department.Contesting against her for the Assembly seat was Vijay Singh, prime suspect in Dwivedi's murder, who is in judicial custody at present. Vijay, who contested as the Congress candidate against Dwivedi during the October elections, filed his nomination as an Independent this time.But just when battlelines were drawn, Vijay surprised everyone by withdrawing in favour of Lal Bahadur Singh Shakya, the common candidate fielded by the Congress and the United Front.
