Parties face wrath of workers over election ticket distribution

 

 

 

Now it has become neo-normal in today’s politics that supporters of poll aspirants, who have failed to get tickets, used to stage protests. Such protests are grabbing public attention due to bizarre scenes. On Sunday, a few workers carrying placards of Niwari districts were protesting against party candidates outside the Pradesh Congress Committee office. In an unusual development, a man from the group came up and remained for around an hour in headstand pose demanding to change the candidate. While in BJP in Gwalior, supporters of BJP leader Munnalal Goyal, a loyalist of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, protested outside the erstwhile royal’s Jai Vilas Palace after Goyal was denied a ticket. Scindia drove to the palace gate and asserted that he stood by them and Goyal in an attempt to pacify the incident.

 

Even as both parties attempted to downplay the resentment but were unable to curb such episodes. BJP workers created a ruckus in front of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in Jabalpur. The supporters of BJP aspirant Dheeraj Pateria and former minister Sharad Jain created a ruckus at the party office after Abhilash Pandey got the ticket from the Jabalpur North seat. The angry party workers also clashed with Yadav's gunman. On other hand, Congress workers burn the effigies of Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh and his son. There are incidents of resentment among some of the congress over declaration of candidates from Burhanpur, Shujalpur, Seoni-Malwa, Semaria, and Jaora seats. Workers at Shujalpur raised slogans outside Kamal Nath’s bungalow and showed black flags to former minister Deepak Joshi, he is the son of late Kailash Joshi, and Deepak Joshi switched from the BJP to Congress this year and got the ticket. Annoyed workers broke the glass of his car and took to streets in protest against the candidates fixed by the party for the upcoming Assembly elections.

 

Former BJP MLA from Tikamgarh K K Shrivastava resigned from the primary membership of the party expressing displeasure over ticket distribution in a letter addressed to the state BJP president. Congress has so far announced 229 candidates while that of BJP is 228 for the elections to the 230-member Assembly. On Sunday, scores of men took to the streets and demanded before the party state president to replace party candidate Bhagwandas Sabnani with ex-minister Umashankar Gupta. supporters of Gupta were raising slogans in front of State BJP president V D Sharma in Bhopal.