Vyapam accused and former minister of higher and technical education, Laxmikant Sharma, may soon return to BJP. Sharma shared dais with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Tuesday at Sironj. It is the second time within a month that the former minister met Chouhan, indicating that the BJP may field him as a candidate.
Sharma was arrested after being booked in multiple cases of the multi-layered Vyapam scam in June 2014. He subsequently spent 18 months in jail. After his arrest, the party suspended his primary membership, but Sharma did not join any other political outfit. Sharma had lost the 2013 assembly polls to the Congress candidate.
On Tuesday, when Shivraj Singh's Janashirwad Yatra reached Sironj, Sharma joined him on the stage. He not only welcomed the CM, but was also the organiser of the rally.
By sharing the dais with Sharma, Shivraj Singh is giving ample indications on the return of Sharma back to the BJP fold. Sharma, considered close to RSS leadership, has never uttered a single word against the chief minister, even when he was in jail and had to spend almost five years in political exile. In Sironj assembly, the BJP may plan to field Laxmikant Sharma against the Congress, as it does not have any other suitable candidate.
Facing a tough political battle ahead, Shivraj Singh is leaving no stone unturned to make the BJP return to power for the fourth time in the state.
As technical education minister, Sharma was heading Vyapam, the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, when the scam took place. He was accused of getting some of his candidates selected as teachers through the recruitment body. Currently, the case is under trial in Bhopal Court after CBI took over the case in 2015.
Even as the final decision on Vyapam is awaited, it seems that BJP has forgotten the issue and exonerated its minister. Congress has criticised Shivraj Singh for having pardoned the Vyapam accused leader. Congress leader Pankaj Chaturvedi said the incident where the CM shared the dais with Sharma showed that Vyapam was a well-planned scam by Shivraj Singh and that he is hand-in-glove with the accused.