Late Batti’s daughter quits his party, joins BJP
At a time when the BJP is on the offensive against the Congress and the INDIA bloc over anti-Sanatan Dharma remarks by DMK and Congress leaders, the daughter of a tribal politician who had reportedly burnt a copy of the Ramayana and built a temple of Ravana has joined the ruling party in poll-bound MP. Greenhorn tribal politician Monika Shah Batti quit as head of her father Late Manmohan Shah Batti’s Akhil Bhartiya Gondwana Party recently and joined the BJP. She may be in the race for a BJP ticket from the Amarwara-ST seat of Chhindwara district, a seat which was won by her father in 2003.
BJP leader may face challenge from nephew
Considered the most powerful OBC leader in the tribal dominated Mahakoshal region, 7-times sitting MLA and 2-times ex-MP Gaurishankar Bisen could be challenged by his own nephew Vishal Bisen in the coming assembly polls. The septuagenarian politician who was re-inducted into the state’s council of ministers recently as a cabinet minister is said to be eyeing the BJP ticket for his younger daughter Mausam Bisen from Balaghat constituency. But his nephew Vishal Bisen, who quit the Congress, wants to contest from the Balaghat as an independent, too.
BJP leaders split over workers moving to Congress
Two senior state BJP leaders seem to have different takes on the continued defection of party leaders to the rival Congress ahead of the assembly polls. The state BJP president VD Sharma (whose working style has often been blamed by disgruntled BJP leaders for joining Congress) recently said that barring some swarthi (selfish) leaders, no one had joined the BJP. On the other hand, ex-minister Rampal Singh (considered close to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan) caused a flutter in political circles of the state by saying that some BJP leaders, who switched over to the Congress, could actually have gone there to spy on what’s happening there.
Anuraag singh
Our correspondent in Madhya Pradesh
singhanuraag.jaurno@gmail.com