Madhya Pradesh Polls: BJP Ministers, MLAs Face Voters’ Ire

Bhopal: Voters are giving a tough time to the ruling BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh poll campaign. With the elections just two weeks away, there is a flood of videos where ruling BJP ministers and MLAs are facing the voters’ ire while visiting their constituencies for campaign including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s home seat.

The chief minister's wife Sadhna Singh and son Kartikeya Chouhan have been campaigning on behalf of Shivraj Singh in Budhni. Chouhan has been representing Budhni for last five terms.

One video which went viral on the social media sites shows the CM's wife Sadhna Singh being shouted away in Rehti village during the election campaign. Women of Rehti have been complaining about the drinking water problem for the last one decade.

Besides CM Chouhan, BJP minister Umashankar Gupta, Deepak Joshi, Bhopal MLA Surendranath Singh, Member of Parliament Manohar Untwal, Morena BJP candidate Gabbar Shankhwar and Indore candidate Sudarshan Gupta, too, have been shouted away by the voters during the campaign. On some place, black flag had been shown to them.  

The videos which are widely circulating on the social networking sites and messaging apps are causing embarrassment to the ruling party leaders.

Why are Voters Angry?

The reason for the voters’ ire is the series of unfulfilled promises made by the BJP government and local leaders. In some places they are complaining for basic amenities like drinking water, roads, etc.   

When the cabinet minister and MLA from Bhopal South-West Uma Shankar Gupta, went to meet voters in his own constituency, a group of women started complaining about the problems prevailing in the locality which upset the minister and he left the place in a hurry.

Similar public anger was aimed at the district BJP Chief and MLA from Bhopal Madhya Surendranath Singh. The voters waved black flags and demanded him to go back.   

Another shocking video surfaced where the School Education Minister and MLA from Hatipipaliya, Deepak Joshi, was picketed by voters asking, “Where is the development? Where is the pond, which you had promised to dig in the area? We are not begging alms but our right because I have voted for you in the previous election.”

Tough fight for CM Chouhan in Budhni

Aimed to give tough fight to CM Chouhan in his home turf Budhni, the Congress has pitted former Madhya Pradesh Congress chief and former union minister Arun Yadav. Chouhan, who has represented the constituency five times, had contested the last two assembly polls in 2008 and 2013 from Budhni almost unchallenged.

Shivraj Singh had won the last assembly polls in 2013 with a margin of over 84,000 votes. With Arun Yadav contesting, the constituency with a sizeable number of Yadav and tribal votes is likely to make things difficult for the chief minister, who has declared that he will not campaign in his home constituency as “people will support him”.

As part of his campaign, Arun Yadav attacked the family members of Chief Minister Chouhan for allegedly running and giving protection to the sand mining mafia.

However, taking a dig over Yadav’s candidature from Budhni Shivraj Singh Chouhan mocked him by expressing sympathy for him saying that “the Congress has always exploited backward caste people, first they removed Arun Yadav from the PCC president post, now they have sent him as a scapegoat”.

Meanwhile, the voice of dissent from Budhni, as can be seen in the two different videos, has raised the eyebrows of the senior party leaders including Chouhan. Chouhan who had announced to campaign in Budhni could amend his plan in the near feature.