BHOPAL: Three more candidates were finalized by BJP for the Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, but suspense continued over who will contest from BJP bastions of Bhopal, Indore and Vidisha.
Three candidates, Chhatar Singh Darbar (Dhar), BD Sharma (Khajuraho) and GS Damor (Ratlam-Jhabua) were announced on Sunday, taking the total number of BJP candidates announced so far for MP to 24.
However, there was no decision on candidates for Bhopal, Indore, Vidisha (all seen as BJP bastions), Sagar and Guna seats. MP houses 29 LS constituencies, 27 of which were won by the BJP in 2014. Congress has announced candidates for all seats, except Indore.
Among the candidates decided by the saffron party on Sunday, the Dhar-ST seat candidate Chhatar Singh Darbar is a veteran leader aged around 65, who has represented the Dhar constituency twice in the past on BJP ticket in 1996 and 2004.
From Ratlam-Jhabua seat long considered the Congress citadel, the BJP has fielded first time sitting MLA from Jhabua seat GS Damor. Damor will take on ex-union minister and five-time Congress MP from the seat Kantilal Bhuria. Interestingly, Damor, a retired chief engineer of MP government had tasted maiden electoral success from Jhabua assembly seat (one of the eight segments of Ratlam LS seat) by defeating sitting MP Kantilal Bhuria’s medico son Dr Vikrant Bhuria.
It’s the first time that either of the two main political parties, BJP or Congress, have risked to field a sitting MLA in the Lok Sabha polls, despite the fact that present Vidhan Sabha is closely competitive with 114 Cong MLAs and 109 BJP MLAs. Kamal Nath-led Congress government is running with support of four independents, two BSP and one SP MLA.
In Khajuraho Lok Sabha seat, the BJP has fielded its state general secretary BD Sharma. But with Sharma being a Brahmin leader from Gwalior-Chambal region, resentment has started in the BJP ranks in Chhatarpur and Katni districts that form part of the parliamentary constituency which is part of Bundelkhand region.
Irked over the development, ex-BJP MLA from Murwara assembly seat of Katni district (one of the eight assembly segments of Khajuraho LS seat) Giriraj Kishor Poddar has reportedly offered to quit the party.