While the lok Sabha elections are round the corner, the Congress leaders are out claiming for party ticket. leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Satyadev Katare on Saturday almost confirmed that senior party leader and former MlA PC Sharma would be fielded from Bhopal.
Katare had reached Roshanpura square, where Sharma was on 25-hour fast demanding CBI probe in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam. Sharma ended his fast by accepting juice from Katare. On the occasion, Katare during his speech said, “….whether PC Sharma or anybody contests lok Sabha election from Bhopal.” On this, Sharma supporter created pandemonium shouting slogans in favour of Sharma and forced Katare to change his statement. later, sensing the situation, Katare told that the ticket would be decided according to the wishes of Sharma supporters, but he stated that Congress should win Bhopal constituency.
Notably, Sharma was denied party ticket in the recently held Assembly elections. At the eleventh hour, Sharma’s mentor Digvijay Singh had pacified Sharma and his supporters that he would be fielded in the lok Sabha elections. Following this, Sharma did not sit idle and became active soon after the Assembly polls. Besides Sharma, former Union Minister Aslam Sher Khan has also become active. In a press conference on Friday, he had criticised Digvijay Singh for his entry to Rajya Sabha and suggested that Union Minister Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia should contest from Jabalpur and Vidisha respectively.
After the conference, Aslam has convened a party workers’ convention at Iqbal Maidan of the State capital. This is would be second such convention, Aslam has convened in Bhopal without intimating the Pradesh Congress Committee. PCC vice-president Rameshwar Neekhra told The Pioneer that he came to know about the convention at Iqbal Maidan through newspapers only. “Aslam did call me on phone stating that he would come to invite me and PCC president Arun Yadav to the convention, but he did not turn up,” Neekhra informed.