Bhopal: To secure its political future, Congress has fielded at least eight candidates from the ruling BJP ahead of the assembly elections. Three of them ‘returned home’, joining the saffron party in March 2020 in support of Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Most of these turncoats have a strong base in politics and the ability to win. Perhaps this was the main reason why State Congress Committee chief Kamal Nath, who himself selected the candidates, made him the party candidate.
Deepak Joshi is contesting elections from Khategaon.
Former BJP minister Deepak Joshi joined the Congress in May this year and is contesting from his home constituency Khategaon in Dewas district. Joshi’s move to Congress was the first big blow for the BJP, as he is the son of former Chief Minister Kailash Joshi.
Joshi, who won three assembly elections from Bagli (2003, 2008) and Hatpipaliya (2013), also served as the Minister of Technical Education and Skill Development and School Education in Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s cabinet. His father, Kailash Joshi, was the ninth Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh (24 June 1977 to 18 January 1978), when he was a member of the Janata Party.
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Congress candidate from Mungawali assembly seat, Rao Yadvendra Singh Yadav, is the son of three-time BJP MLA Rao Deshraj Singh Yadav. Like the Joshi family, Deshraj has also been associated with Jan Sangh. He is contesting against BJP’s Brijendra Singh Yadav.
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Scindia loyalist Vaidyanath Yadav, who joined the BJP in March 2020, made his ‘ghar-vapasi’ ahead of the elections. He was again inducted into Congress due to Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh, to take on Scindia and also field a strong candidate against BJP’s Mahendra Yadav, who is also considered close to Scindia.
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Scindia’s loyalists return
Another Scindia loyalist, who has ‘returned home’ and is contesting the elections on a Congress ticket, is Neeraj Sharma. Congress has fielded him against Minister of State Govind Singh Rajput from Surkhi Assembly seat in Sagar district.
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Former BJP MP Bodh Singh Bhagat, a prominent political face from Balaghat district, has left the saffron party and is contesting from Katangi on a Congress ticket. Congress has fielded former BJP MLA Girija Shankar Sharma from Hoshangabad against his brother and three-time MLA Sitasaran Sharma. The Sharma family has been winning this seat for the last three decades, so their candidature from Congress has made the contest interesting.
Hope from old BJP people also
Former BJP MLA Abhay Mishra is contesting on Congress ticket from Semaria seat of Rewa. Mishra and his wife Neelam Mishra together have won two assembly elections from this particular seat in 2008 and 2013. The BJP has fielded only one candidate, Siddharth Tiwari, who hails from an old Congress family. He is the grandson of former Assembly Speaker Srinivas Tiwari from Teonthar seat of Rewa and being a Brahmin face, his position is said to be strong. His father Sunderlal Tiwari was also a former Lok Sabha MP. Due to his family background, Siddharth’s position is said to be quite strong.