BHOPAL: Away from electoral politics since winning the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti has created a flutter by asking her politically-crucial OBC Lodhi community to decide on their volition whether to vote for the saffron party or not.
“I’ll come and from the stage of my party, will appeal all people to vote for BJP. I never say that you are Lodhi, so you vote for BJP, as I appeal one and all to vote for BJP. As a loyal and committed soldier of the party, I appeal everyone to vote for BJP. But I can’t expect you to be loyal soldiers of the BJP. You’ve to look around and decide keeping in mind all your interests, if you’re not the workers or voters of our party,” Bharti said, while addressing an event of Lodhi community in Bhopal on Tuesday evening.
“The bond of love between you (Lodhis) and me is inseparable, but I free you from any kind of political bonding,” Bharti said from the stage, where MP BJP MLAs, Pradyuman Singh Lodhi and Jalam Singh Patel (union minister Prahlad Patel’s ex MP minister brother) were also present.
Bharti, the saffron clad firebrand leader of the Ayodhya Ram Temple Movement, hails from the Lodhi community, which has sizeable presence in large parts of Bundelkhand region of both MP and UP, as well as central MP.
“You’ve big vote in around 50 assembly seats in MP, out which on 27 seats, it’s you (Lodhis) who solely decide who will be the winner. Though my pictures aren’t normally there, they’ll be will be shown to you at the time of elections, just like pictures of Kalyan Singh (ex UP CM who also hailed from the same OBC Lodh Rajput community) are shown in the poll season. Seeing your leader’s picture, you’ll side with those who’ve your leaders pictures. No, but now you’ve to fight for your rights,” the former union minister said at the same event.