Bhopal: 'Abki Baar, Bhajapa Sarkar' (BJP government this time around) - Vidisha constituency of Madhya Pradesh is perhaps one of the rare constituencies where one can hear this slogan - a slogan which is very dear to the hearts of party veteran Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Jaswant Singh (now expelled and this slogan could have prevented his expulsion) and so on. Because the Bharatiya Janata Party's official slogan for 2014 is 'Abki Baar, Modi Sarkaar'. Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj is seeking re-election from this prestigious Lok Sabha constituency, which is going to vote on April 24.
The pictures of the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is visible in the hoardings and advertisements displayed in different parts of the constituency. However, the size of Narendra Modi's photo is equal to that of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. From the point of view of much-hyped Modi wave, Vidisha has also witnessed a different type of electioneering in one more sense. Sushma gives equal importance to Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chauhan in her rallies.
"I can see a pro-BJP atmosphere in Madhya Pradesh because of Narendra Modiji's leadership quality, Shivraj Singh Chouhan's wide popularity and sentiments against the Congress due to a 10-year misrule of the UPA," Sushma Swaraj has said in each and every rally, adding a list of pro-poor measures taken by the Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh.
Sushma has completely avoided the media during her campaign in Vidisha for the reasons best known to her. From the media's point of view, one can guess the reason for her being in the headlines all for the wrong reasons. At the time of her first visit to Bhopal after her candidature was announced from Vidisha, it was Sushma Swaraj who revealed to the media that candidature of ex-BJP veteran, Jaswant Singh from Barmer in Rajasthan was not discussed in the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the BJP. The revelation was contradicted by the party chief Rajnath Singh the very next day. Sushma was again in the midst of a controversy when a minister in Chouhan's cabinet, Surendra Patwa proposed her name for Deputy Prime Minister in her presence. Even as the announcement was made twice, Sushma didn't stop Patwa, who is the nephew of former CM Sunderlal Patwa, now better known as the political mentor of Chouhan.
Vidisha is considered a BJP bastion. It has not lost the seat in the last 25 years. The constituency came to limelight in 1991 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee contested from Vidisha and Lucknow. However, he preferred to retain Lucknow after his thumping victory from both the seats. Chouhan, who was merely an MLA from Budhni Assembly, was chosen to contest the by-election. Afterwards, Chouhan represented the constituency five times till he was elected as the Chief Minister in 2004.
Interestingly, Digvijaya Singh's brother Laxman Singh, nick-named as 'Chunnu Raja', is pitted against Sushma in Vidisha. During the run up to the Lok Sabha polls, Digvijaya (also popularly known as Munnu Raja) had praised Sushma and went to the extent of describing her as a better choice for the prime ministership compared to Narendra Modi. It was obviously an awkward situation for Laxman Singh who defended his elder brother's comment, saying that it was said in a lighter vein. Laxman Singh took on Sushma Swaraj on the outsider issue. "She (Sushma Swaraj) keeps on changing her constituency. What can be more unfortunate for Vidisha than the fact that its representative in Parliament has not stayed for a single night within the periphery of the 250-km wide constituency?" he asked.
It was in 2004 that Sushma was more keen to contest from the BJP's safe seat of Bhopal. For Sushma Swaraj, the urban constituency like Bhopal was more suitable. However, sitting BJP MP Kailash Joshi refused to vacate the seat and Sushma was sent another BJP fortress Vidisha. When asked why a party stalwart like her has chosen a safe BJP seat like Vidisha, She used to say that the party has rewarded Vidisha for her sacrifice and the courage to contest against Sonia Gandhi in Bellary in Karnataka. This is the story behind Sushma's love for Vidisha.
Sushma literally got a walkover in the 2009 Lok Sabha election as the nomination of the official Congress nominee Raj Kumar Patel, a close confidant of Digvijaya Singh and formerly a minister in Digvijaya's cabinet, was rejected on technical grounds and she won the election by a huge margin of 3.90 lakh votes. Rajkumar Patel was suspended from the primary membership of the Congress for the period of six years. Raj Kumar Patel has entered the fray this time too as an independent candidate. There were lots of speculations over this move of Digvijaya Singh's close aide. Later, Rajkumar Patel withdrew his papers. The suspense was clear when he was re-inducted into the Congress and started campaigning for Digvijaya Singh's 'Chunnu Raja'.
Laxman Singh had completed four terms in the Lok Sabha as a Congress MP in 2003, a fateful year to his brother Digvijaya Singh when he was routed by Uma Bharati in the assembly elections after 10-year-long regime. Laxman Singh joined the BJP in 2004 after the shameful defeat of the Congress. He won 2004 Lok Sabha election from Rajgarh seat as the BJP candidate. However, he could not retain the seat in 2009 election, leaving him in the political wilderness. Efforts of Digvijaya Singh bore fruits when Laxman Singh rejoined the Congress in January, 2013. Now his candidature from Vidisha against the BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj, in fact, symbolises that Laxman Singh is an integral part of the Congress.
Sushma Swaraj is among the 118 candidates whose fate is to be decided on April 24. Ten Lok Sabha constituencies of the state, including Vidisha will go to polls in this phase. Out of these ten seats, 6 seats - Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar and Khandwa - are presently held by the Congress, while the remaining 4 - Vidisha, Indore, Khargone and Betul are with the BJP.
Aam Aadmi Party's presence can be felt only in Khandwa constituency, which is witnessing a triangular contest. MP Congress Chief and former union minister Arun Yadav is contesting from threre.
In Chhattisgarh, this election will be decisive for 153 candidates in 7 Lok Sabha constituencies. The Congress holds only one seat of Korba while the remaing 6 seats of Sarguja, Raigarh, Janjgir-Champa, Raipur, Durg and Bilaspur are with the BJP. Former Prime Minister Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla, who recently joined the Congress before the Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh after alleging that the BJP was under the grip of power politics, is in the fray from Bilaspur.
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