BJP irked over 10 namesakes in fray, alleges Ajit Jogi's hand

The BJP has accused former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, the Congress Lok Sabha poll nominee from Mahasamund, of fielding 10 namesake candidates of saffron party nominee Chandulal Sahu from the seat to distract voters.

In view of this, the ruling party in Chhattisgarh has also demanded the Election Commission to declare Jogi as 'ineligible' from contesting the poll.

Interestingly, 10 candidates in fray from Mahasamund have similar sounding names as that of BJP nominee Chandulal Sahu. While seven have Chandulal as their first name, three are named Chanduram and all have Sahu as their surname.

"The Election Commission should probe this (same name candidate issue) and declare the Congress' candidate ineligible if he is proved guilty," BJP legislators from Mahasamund region - Ramlal Chauhan, Rupkumari Choudhary, Chunni Lal Sahu, Santosh Upadhyay and Gowardhan Manjhi - said in a joint press statement on Wednesday.

Incidentally, the ten namesake candidates filed nomination papers on the same day. They went missing after filing nominations and returned home after candidates' nomination withdrawal process concluded. Their deposit money have same series of currency, they said.

All these factors indicate foul play in fielding these candidates from Mahasamund, where Jogi is contesting on the Congress ticket, they said.

"It seems he (Jogi) has conspired this to influence the democratic electoral process," the legislators alleged.

Jogi used to play such tactics during elections and this is a trick to confuse the voters, they said.

Demanding a fair probe in this connection, the BJP MLAs sought from the EC to investigate the origin of deposit money of all 10 namesakes and if they have any direct or indirect link with Jogi.

The leaders have also sought to know where all the 10 namesakes disappeared after filing nomination, and if they went for outing then, who bore their expenses?

Meanwhile brushing aside the allegations, Jogi, who is busy campaigning in his constituency, said, "I don't know any independent Chandu Sahu and right now I am focusing only on my campaign. It is a democratic process and anybody can contest election."

Notably, 30 candidates are in fray from Mahasamund seat going to polls on April 17, during the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state.