For MP rivals, contest begins at home

Once leaders of the BJP and its previous avatar Jana Sangh targeted their Congress rivals for nepotism. Now, they are trying to match up wit...

Once leaders of the BJP and its previous avatar Jana Sangh targeted their Congress rivals for nepotism. Now, they are trying to match up with them in the promotion of their kith and kin.

Madhya Pradesh is a case in point where four Union ministers and two former CMs are among the senior BJP leaders pushing the cases of their kin for tickets. Party sources say, Sports Minister Vikram Verma wants a ticket for his wife, Nina Verma, from Dhar. It is another matter that he himself lost from the constituency when he was projected as a chief ministerial candidate

in 1998.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum Sumitra Mahajan wants a ticket for her son, Mandar Mahajan, from Depalpur in Indore district. Minister of State for Coal Prehlad Patel is backing his brother, Zalim Singh, from Narsinghpur, while another Central minister, Phagun Singh Kulaste, wants a ticket for his brother from Mandla.

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Former CM Kailash Joshi is keen on his son, Deepak Joshi, being nominated from his traditional Assembly seat, Bagli, or Khategaon, both in Dewas district. Joshi lost from Bagli in 1998. Sunder Lal Patwa, if he has his way, would want his nephew, Mangal Patwa, nominated from Mandsaur or Manasa in Neemuch district.

MP Laxmi Narain Pandey is striving for re-nomination for his son, Rajendra, from Jawra. Remember Swami Prasad Lodhi, brother of BJP chief ministerial candidate Uma Bharati, who first went hammer and tongs against her and then patched up? Sources say, Lodhi, a sitting MLA, wants to change his constituency and shift to Pichore in Shivpuri district. Her nephew, Sidharth is also trying for a ticket.

Cong readies 230 names but ‘in-fighting’ delays release

KOTA NEELIMA
NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 31

THE Congress’s plan to release the Madhya Pradesh candidates’ list early appears to have derailed thanks to four senior leaders pulling the party in different directions.

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Despite finalising the names for 191 seats out of the 230 at the Central Election Authority meeting on October 29, and deciding the remaining 39 last night, the party is still unable to declare the final list.

Senior leaders like Arjun Singh, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia had all submitted a list of candidates. However, in the final list of 191, each of these leaders got much less than what they had sought.

Leaders point out that while the list of 230 is ready, negotiations are on with various camps to get unanimity on the share of seats that each leader has got. Sources say that Ajay Singh — Arjun Singh’s son — has been summoned to Delhi by Digvijay to iron out the differences on the final list.

In Baghel Khand region, where Arjun holds clout, 32 seats are said to have been given to his men, while his nominees from Mahakaushal have been ignored. From the Gwalior-Guna region, where Jyotiraditya Scindia holds clout, 26 seats are said to have been given to his men, while his nominees from Madhya Bharat region have been

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ignored. In the Mahakaushal-Chindwara region, 43 seats have been given to Kamal Nath’s candidates. These include many sitting MLAs who have again been selected as candidates — one of the reasons why the number of dropped sitting MLAs this time is as low as 24. However, most senior leaders have complained that the Chief Minister has kept the largest chunk of seats — 129 — for his own candidates.

Now, with tensions mounting within the Congress, it is expected that 15 seats out of the finalised 191 would be ‘‘reopened’’ for review. This would include the question of sitting MLAs. However, as this list is informally in circulation, a number of candidates have already started their election preparations in their allotted constituencies.