About three dozen rebel candidates from both ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh would play spoilsport for their respective parties in the run for the Assembly election.
Angry with the ticket distribution rebels of both BJP and the Congress have become headache for the official candidates of their parties. Of the total rebels about two dozen are from the BJP while one dozen are of Congress.All efforts by the senior leaders of both the political giants of the State from State to national level have so far failed to pacify the anger of these rebels.
The presence of the rebels is set to misbalance the equation of these seats. State Congress President Kantilal Bhuria and union minister Harish Rawat’s efforts to pacify Kalawati Bhuria contesting as independent from Jhabua Assembly constituency could not bear fruits as the niece of State Congress chief refused to withdrew her candidature. Kalawati, a sitting chairperson of the district Panchayat was seeking Congress ticket failing that she entered the fray as independent and is now in a position to change equations of both the major political parties.
BJP MlAs from Badnagar and Mehgaon have entered the electoral fray after failing to get ticket from the party. Badnagar MlA Shantilal Dhawai has entered the fray as an independent while the Mehgaon MlA Rakesh Shukla in the field on the ticket of loktantrik Samajwadi Party. Former BJP MP from Bhind Ramlakhan Singh’s son Sanjeev Singh is in the electoral fray on BSP ticket while the Mandi Board chairman Naval Kishore Sharma who also raised the Bhojshala issue has entered the fray against party nominee Neena Verma.
Former Congress MlA Rudrapratap Singh from Shamshabad has entered the fray on ticket of Samajwadi Party. Vinod Shukla brother of energy minister Rajendra Shukla is contesting as independent from Maugunj Assembly constituency of Rewa district. Similarly many other rebels of both the parties are in the fray on other seats causing concern for their respective parties especially on the seats that are decided with very low margin.