a BJP Gulabchand Bhandari, a leader in Ujjain for the last three decades, stood outside the office of party’s state president VD Sharma on Thursday, waiting to get a ticket for the mayor’s post in the city in the upcoming local body elections. Bhandari claimed that he started out as a booth worker and rose up the ranks of the party to remain on a position in the BJP’s state working committee. “I am sure the party will consider me for the post of mayor,” he said.
with enrollment local elections Bhandari was among the hundreds of BJP workers who thronged the party office in the hope of getting tickets, starting Saturday. Not only the ruling party, a similar scene is being witnessed outside the state Congress office ever since the state election commission announced earlier this month that the three-phase municipal elections would begin on July 6.
BJP leaders like Satna Municipal Corporation mayoral candidate Laxmi Yadav and Yogesh Tambekar traveled nearly 500 kms to get party tickets. Other candidates like Virendra Kumar Pathak had come from Singrauli hoping for a mayor’s ticket from an unreserved seat, while Nirmala Thakur was expected to get a ticket to contest from the capital city’s Bavdia Kalan ward.
Rajo Malviya, a member of the BJP State Working Committee, who contested the Bhopal mayoral election in 1999, also expressed optimism about the party considering his candidacy. “I lost because of Congress conspiracy, but over the years I have learned the tricks of politics. I have just told my higher officials that I can be considered. Anyway, we are always committed to do whatever the party assigns us.”
Hopes of activists like Bhandari rose after party national president JP Nadda last week criticized “dynastic politics” and said the party would give priority to its workers over the families of politicians. “We will encourage the families of ministers and MPs to work to strengthen the party, but the workers will get priority for representation in the elections,” Nadda told reporters in Bhopal.
Amid speculation that Jyotiraditya Scindia’s son Mahanarayanan might enter politics during the elections, the Union Aviation Minister, who is on a two-day visit to Gwalior, said, “I believe everyone should be given an opportunity . In politics, only one person in the family is enough.
Meanwhile, the Congress office, two kilometers away, was thronged by ticket aspirants on Thursday, with their supporters camping outside since morning.
The civic polls were to be held in December 2019, but could not be held due to a dispute over reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The dates were announced after the Supreme Court on May 18 issued an order asking the government, “The limit of reservation in all categories should not exceed 50 per cent.”
Changes in the reservation of wards have complicated the candidate selection process, creating difficulties for both the parties. Ward 42 of the municipal corporation in Bhopal had senior Congress leader Mohammad Sagir, a former leader of opposition in the civic body. But now it has been changed to reserved seat for female OBC candidate.
Sagir wanted to shift to adjoining Ward 41, but went against the local claimant Shahwar Khan and his associate Salim Khan. The two sides clashed during a meeting chaired by the party to resolve their dispute on Tuesday. In a video that has gone viral, Sagir and Shahwar’s supporters are seen beating each other.
When asked about the fight, state Congress president Kamal Nath on Thursday said, “I have been in politics for 45 years. People do good work and expect tickets. In such situations sometimes it leads to friction.”
Nath made it clear that he would hold a meeting with party leaders in-charge of district units and field suitable candidates. “During elections, everyone asks for a ticket but ultimately one person gets a ticket. We will take a decision keeping in mind that the organization needs to be strengthened and not an individual.
The BJP was embroiled in controversy this week when its Gwalior district president Kamal Makhija was filmed collecting Rs 10,000 along with bio-data of ticket candidates outside the party’s district office. The video went viral. When questioned, Makhija told reporters that he was collecting resume and “surrender nidhi (donations)” for the party. Congress district president Devendra Sharma alleged that this is extortion.
Voting will be held in 133 of the 413 municipal bodies in the state on July 6, while elections to 214 municipalities will be held in the second phase on July 13. Elections in the remaining municipalities will be held at a later date. to be informed The results of the first two phases will be declared on July 17 and 18. Nominations for the post of mayor in 16 municipal corporations and over 6,500 councilors will be notified on June 11.
BJP has already started its campaign, State BJP President VD Sharma launched his “Booth Vijay Sankalp Abhiyan” on Friday. He will try to reach out to those voters who have benefited from various state and central government welfare schemes and community influencers.