Chhattisgarh Polls: The political temperature is high regarding the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh. The main rivals in the state, BJP and Congress, have also started ticket allotment. After the list of candidates came out, the turmoil within the party has also intensified. Supporters of senior BJP leader and former minister Ganesh Ram Bhagat have been protesting outside the party’s state office in Raipur since Saturday evening to change the party candidate from Jashpur assembly constituency.
Jashpur seat is currently held by Congress MLA Vinay Kumar Bhagat. Voting on this seat will be held in the second phase on November 17. On this seat reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, BJP has fielded Raimuni Bhagat, a woman member of Jashpur District Panchayat. Unhappy with his candidature, BJP workers and supporters of former five-time MLA Ganesh Ram Bhagat reached Raipur in three buses on Saturday and sat on a dharna outside the party’s state office Kushabhau Thackeray complex.
Rakesh Gupta, a BJP protester from Jashpur, said while talking to the media on Sunday, ‘We are sad that a senior leader like Ganesh Ram Bhagat is being ignored. He has been at the forefront of the movement in the interest of tribals, against religious conversion and cow slaughter in Jashpur in northern Chhattisgarh, but Raimuni Bhagat did nothing.” He claimed that even the Urao, Nageshia and Pahari Korwa tribal groups had opposed Raimuni. Objection has been raised to Bhagat’s candidature.
Party workers and local people including women from Jashpur have come here at their own expense in support of Ganesh Ram ji and are demanding the removal of Raimuni Bhagat. Until we get positive assurance from the party leadership, we will continue our protest outside the party office, Gupta said.
200 protesters are protesting outside the BJP office. On Saturday night they slept at the protest site itself. Senior BJP MLA and former minister Brijmohan Aggarwal and party’s state general secretary (organisation) Pawan Sai tried to pacify the protesters but they continued the protest.
State President of BJP-Congress in the election field, Arun Sao and Deepak Baij will contest from this seat.
On this entire episode, Ganesh Ram Bhagat said that his supporters are protesting on their own and he does not support it. He said, however, that everyone is free to put forward their demands and the party leadership should pay attention to them. should give.
The Election Commission has announced the schedule of assembly elections in Chhattisgarh. Voting will be held in the state in two phases – November 7 and November 17. Counting will take place on December 3. Both Congress and BJP parties in the state have so far released one list each. The Chief Minister, Deputy CM and many MPs of the state are in the election fray. Both the parties have given tickets to state presidents.