Following a famous and popular saying in Hindi — Kuchh pane ke liye kuchh khona padta hai (to get something it needs to give up something), five young leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the city set an unmatched example in the politics. The young turks of the saffron party Alok Sanjar, Alok Sharma, Rameshwar Sharma, Vishwas Sarang and Vishnu Khatri after representing in the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), had announced that they would not contest corporator’s election.
They claimed that they had decided to pave the way for the generation next and interestingly their sacrifice did not go waste as all five now hold more important offices now. Factually, one of them Vishwas Sarang made this announcement after getting elected to the civic body for the first time only while Alok Sanjar, Alok Sharma, Rameshwar Sharma and Vishnu Khatri announced not to contest municipal election after getting elected twice to the BMC.
Alok Sanjar is now MP from Bhopal; Alok Sharma is Bhopal Mayor while Vishwas Sarang, Rameshwar Sharma and Vishnu Khatri are MlAs from Narela, Huzur and Berasia assembly constituencies respectively. Sarang was the first to get rewarded for his sacrifice as he is now MlA for the second term while Rameshwar Sharma and Khatri reached assembly for the first time in 2013 and Sanjar entered parliament in 2014 while Alok Sharma was elected to the office of Bhopal mayor on Wednesday only.
The rare exemplary gesture shown by these leaders even when their party was forcing them to contest again, is also what the politics of present time lacks and needs to be appreciated as no one now thinks of paving way for others. Sanjar while talking to ‘The Pioneer’ said, “Municipal Corporation is the primary school for learning parliamentary ethos, once acquainted with that I decided that it’s enough of learning and in search of bigger horizon announced not to contest civic election in future.”
Rameshwar Sharma said, “If we continue to stick to the primary chair, how would we move ahead besides that also becomes hurdle in young and new people’s way.” Besides, Sarang feels that after getting elected to the BMC for the first time, he had decided that he would not contest municipal election again and made his decision public. The decision came from inner self and he did not wish to obstruct the way of the youth waiting eagerly to join main stream politics.
Khatri said, “I decided not to contest the municipal election for want of assembly ticket though I was pressurized by the party to contest for the third term but I was determined not to contest and the party allowed me for that.” The newly elected Mayor of the city, Alok Sharma said, “I decided not to contest the municipal election to work in the organization besides I wished to leave space for new comers.”
All the five leaders also said that their sacrifice was not only noticed and appreciated by the party leadership but they were provided with the opportunity to get elected to the higher offices. When asked that would they set the same example in assembly and parliament also they said they would go by the party decision if any in this regard.