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Digvijay trying to unite Opposition parties against Uma Bharati
Bhopal, Nov 13: Chief Minister Digvijay Singh is working on a seemingly more effective strategy to tie down the BJP star campaigner Uma Bharti in her constituency Bada Malehra than the BJP could do in his case by fielding Shivraj Singh Chauhan from Raghogarh.
Bhopal, Nov 13: Chief Minister Digvijay Singh is working on a seemingly more effective strategy to tie down the BJP star campaigner Uma Bharti in her constituency Bada Malehra than the BJP could do in his case by fielding Shivraj Singh Chauhan from Raghogarh.
Digvijay Singh in association with other `secular` parties is devising a formula that a common candidate could be fielded against formidable Uma Bharti.
The pressure to withdraw from the fray was showing on his face when Samajwadi Party (SP) State president Gauri Singh Yadav addressed a press conference here today. He is the party candidate from Bada Malehra.
When asked whether he would withdraw from the fray in the interest of unity among the secular parties to defeat a `proclaimed` communal Uma Bharti, he said `I wish to contest but the final decision in this matter would be taken by the Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav`.
Yadav, eying Yadav, Ghoshi, Kushwaha and Muslim votes in the constituency, who amongst themselves constitute 67,000 votes in the constituency, may consider himself to be on a firm footing but actually the SP candidate in the previous two Assembly elections had only been able to manage 315 and 1869 votes respectively.
"In this situation, if he were not sure to increase the vote share to at least a respectable 10,000 votes, it would only be advisable for the Samajwadi Party to withdraw from the fray to avoid division of `secular` votes", said a party office-bearer after the conference.
Mulayam, though soft on the BJP after taking over the reins in UP, still continues to harp on secular mantra and so does his party leaders in the State. But, more than the SP, Communist Party of India (CPI), has to be taken in fold to ensure a common candidate against Bharti.
The CPI, though a minor player in the State politics, has a far bigger role to play at Bada Malehra. It was Kapoor Chand Dhuvara of the CPI, who had finished second behind Swami Lodhi, the BJP candidate from the constituency and elder brother of Uma Bharti. And, margin of defeat was just over 4,000 votes and the Congress candidate was a distant third.
Another remarkable fact is that Bada Malehra has never been a bastion of the BJP. The Congress had won the seat in 1993 and margin of defeat in 1990 and 1998, when the BJP won the election, was never beyond 5,000 votes. The rare strong presence of the communist party makes the electoral battle all the more interesting on the seat.
Dhuvara, known for his consistent struggle on local issues, has always attracted sizeable number of votes from the constituency in the three previous Assembly elections.
The CPI has had talks with the Congress to field a common candidate from the seat but they insisted that the Congress withdrew its candidate in favour of their candidate. "Our State secretary Mahendra Vajpayee has had talks with the Chief Minister on the issue. We told him that on the issue of secularism, we have always extended help to the Congress and it is only expected of them to prepare ground for a common candidate against Bharti. He was not aware then that Congress has not fared well from the constituency in the previous elections. He has asked us to wait, he would get back to us on the 11th", informed CPI State executive member Anand Pandey.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister is trying for party ticket to Khajuraho MP and All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi in place of his acolyte Jagdish Shukla, who was announced candidate from Bada Malhera earlier. Chief Minister is said to be insisting that Chaturvedi could be the best bet against Bharti. And, other political parties may also agree to withdraw their candidates in his favour.
Chaturvedi is unwilling to contest but he was urgently called to Delhi reportedly for a meeting with the party president Sonia Gandhi on Monday. Sources at his office at Chhatarpur confirmed that he has been called to Delhi but declined to disclose why. All his programmes in the region have been postponed till November 12.
When Pandey was asked whether the CPI would agree to withdraw its candidate for Chaturvedi, he said `Chaturvedi is a nice human being and he has fought against feudal lords of the region but it is not enough. Chaturvedi could never be as easily available to people as Dhuvara is nor could he fight with the same zeal for the people as he does", Pandey said. Bureau Report
Digvijay Singh in association with other `secular` parties is devising a formula that a common candidate could be fielded against formidable Uma Bharti.
The pressure to withdraw from the fray was showing on his face when Samajwadi Party (SP) State president Gauri Singh Yadav addressed a press conference here today. He is the party candidate from Bada Malehra.
When asked whether he would withdraw from the fray in the interest of unity among the secular parties to defeat a `proclaimed` communal Uma Bharti, he said `I wish to contest but the final decision in this matter would be taken by the Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav`.
Yadav, eying Yadav, Ghoshi, Kushwaha and Muslim votes in the constituency, who amongst themselves constitute 67,000 votes in the constituency, may consider himself to be on a firm footing but actually the SP candidate in the previous two Assembly elections had only been able to manage 315 and 1869 votes respectively.
"In this situation, if he were not sure to increase the vote share to at least a respectable 10,000 votes, it would only be advisable for the Samajwadi Party to withdraw from the fray to avoid division of `secular` votes", said a party office-bearer after the conference.
Mulayam, though soft on the BJP after taking over the reins in UP, still continues to harp on secular mantra and so does his party leaders in the State. But, more than the SP, Communist Party of India (CPI), has to be taken in fold to ensure a common candidate against Bharti.
The CPI, though a minor player in the State politics, has a far bigger role to play at Bada Malehra. It was Kapoor Chand Dhuvara of the CPI, who had finished second behind Swami Lodhi, the BJP candidate from the constituency and elder brother of Uma Bharti. And, margin of defeat was just over 4,000 votes and the Congress candidate was a distant third.
Another remarkable fact is that Bada Malehra has never been a bastion of the BJP. The Congress had won the seat in 1993 and margin of defeat in 1990 and 1998, when the BJP won the election, was never beyond 5,000 votes. The rare strong presence of the communist party makes the electoral battle all the more interesting on the seat.
Dhuvara, known for his consistent struggle on local issues, has always attracted sizeable number of votes from the constituency in the three previous Assembly elections.
The CPI has had talks with the Congress to field a common candidate from the seat but they insisted that the Congress withdrew its candidate in favour of their candidate. "Our State secretary Mahendra Vajpayee has had talks with the Chief Minister on the issue. We told him that on the issue of secularism, we have always extended help to the Congress and it is only expected of them to prepare ground for a common candidate against Bharti. He was not aware then that Congress has not fared well from the constituency in the previous elections. He has asked us to wait, he would get back to us on the 11th", informed CPI State executive member Anand Pandey.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister is trying for party ticket to Khajuraho MP and All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi in place of his acolyte Jagdish Shukla, who was announced candidate from Bada Malhera earlier. Chief Minister is said to be insisting that Chaturvedi could be the best bet against Bharti. And, other political parties may also agree to withdraw their candidates in his favour.
Chaturvedi is unwilling to contest but he was urgently called to Delhi reportedly for a meeting with the party president Sonia Gandhi on Monday. Sources at his office at Chhatarpur confirmed that he has been called to Delhi but declined to disclose why. All his programmes in the region have been postponed till November 12.
When Pandey was asked whether the CPI would agree to withdraw its candidate for Chaturvedi, he said `Chaturvedi is a nice human being and he has fought against feudal lords of the region but it is not enough. Chaturvedi could never be as easily available to people as Dhuvara is nor could he fight with the same zeal for the people as he does", Pandey said. Bureau Report