On the last day of canvassing in the by-elections scheduled in three constituencies of the State, the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh campaigned extensively. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and PCC chief Arun Yadav addressed election meetings in these constituencies on Tuesday.
It is a direct contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition Congress in the by-elections scheduled to take place on August 21.The by-polls are scheduled to be held in Bahoriband, Vijayraghavgarh (both general) and Agar (SC) constituencies.The by-election was necessitated in Bahoriband due to the death of sitting MlA Prabhat Pandey. The BJP has fielded his son Pranav Pandey for the seat.
In Vijayraghavgarh, the by-polls are being held as sitting Congress MlA Sanjay Pathak switched over to the BJP during the recent lok Sabha elections. The BJP has fielded Pathak from here while the Congress is banking on former Katni Mayor, Vijendra Mishra.The bypolls in Agar (SC) was necessitated as sitting BJP MlA Manohar Untwal was elected as MP from Dewas lok Sabha seat. The BJP has fielded former MlA Gopal Parmar for the seat while the Congress is banking on Agar Youth Congress president Rajkumar Gore.
The Congress is looking at the by-elections as an opportunity to regain some lost ground following its drubbing in the recent lok Sabha elections and the Assembly elections last year.
The Congress, which has left no opportunity to embarrass the BJP Government over the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam, would like to reap some electoral benefits over the issue. Senior party leaders Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia, state Congress president Arun Yadav, leader of Opposition Satyadev Katare and MlA Jaivardhan Singh campaigned for the party.
On the other hand, the saffron party seems determined to not provide the Congress the much-needed opportunity.Senior BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Thawarchand Gehlot and national vice-president Prabhat Jha, have campaigned vigorously for the by-elections.For the BJP and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, repeating the performance has become a prestige issue, particularly after attacks by the Congress over the MPPEB scam.
While Chouhan campaigned mainly in Vijayraghavgarh and Bahoriband, Union labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar focused on Agar.