National

Opium belt in M.P. may spring a surprise or two

ALONG STATE HIGHWAY 31 (M.P.): Drive up north from Ratlam towards the opium-growing districts of Mandsaur and Neemuch and it does not take long to realise why some villages have decided to boycott the Assembly elections this Friday.

In fact, from just outside Ratlam town towards Jhavra, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s promise of 2003 vintage and the present claims on development on the road front begin to crumble.

And, this is not some village road. It is State Highway 31. With work on its four-laning having started a few months ago, the existing stretch has been ignored despite the heavy inter-State traffic that hurtles through a blinding dust haze.

Finding the BJP no better than the Congress, Chaurana and Bhatuni villages have announced their intention to boycott the elections. Though the two villages in Ratlam (Rural) segment form a miniscule minority, the disappointment with the sitting MLAs in these BJP pocket boroughs is evident as they have failed to deliver electricity, roads and water — the ‘bijli, sadak, pani’ (BSP) factor on which the party came to power in 2003.

If anything will save the day for the party’s candidates, it is the respect that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan seems to have mustered for himself across the region. “He is one of us, still rooted to his humble beginnings. People want him back. So by default many of the BJP candidates will get votes,” explains Vijay Singh, who runs an eatery in Dhodhar in the Jhavra Assembly segment which is witnessing a keen fight between the sitting MLA Rajendra Pandey of the BJP and Congressman Mahendra Singh Kalukhera, a close associate of the Scindia family.

There is much excitement in the BJP camp with Deendayal Patidar of Uma Bharti’s Bharatiya Jan Shakti withdrawing his candidature on Sunday in favour of Mr. Pandey — son of BJP Lok Sabha member Lakshmi Narain Pandey.

However, insist some voters of the constituency, this does not necessarily mean the BJS votes will transfer to the BJP. “They are angry at being let down, and could well vote for the Congress as Mr. Kalukhera is popular.”

A similar upset is being predicted in Ratlam City segment where the name on most lips is that of ‘Paras Dada’ (Independent candidate Paras Saklecha) despite the presence of long-time representative and Minister of State for Home Himmat Kothari. With a reputation of being a Councillor who keeps his word, Paras Dada’s public meetings are drawing huge crowds.

The Ratlam-Mandsaur-Neemuch belt appears to be dotted with a fair share of such David vs. Goliath battles. Malhargarh segment — a new constituency reserved for the Scheduled Castes following delimitation — is one such battleground.

Here a local 30-year-old Congressman, Shyamlal Jogchand, has been fielded against a BJP Minister twice his age, Jagdish Devda, making electors describe it as a battle between a ‘mom-batti’ (candle) and a ‘lal-batti’ (red beacon light).

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