Amidst high voltage drama, BJP released 177 candidates from 230 seats for election in Madhya Pradesh. Ticket distribution in the state of Chhatisgarh is also proving to be a volatile exercise for BJP. The Congress, who has been deliberating the announcement of candidates might come out with the list tonight.
Yesterday in Chhattisgarh, after Congress declared tickets of all 90 assembly seats, supporters of Renu Jogi, wife of Ajit Jogi ransacked the Congress headquarters in capital Raipur; on not finding her name in the list. While Ajit Jogi has defected from Congress to form his own outfit, his wife was a Congress MLA.
Since last night, security has been beefed up at Congress and BJP headquarters at Madhya Pradesh where aggressive supporters of candidates have made a show of strength. Congress will also announce the same number of candidates in Madhya Pradesh, as per sources.
Interestingly, Congress has been busy deciding the 230 candidates for last 15 days, but BJP stole the show by announcing the names first. Indicating that there is no infighting among them like Congress where all the senior leaders are camping at Delhi finalising the tickets.
As per media reports, Congress leaders are divided into two camps— one led by Digvijaya Singh and the other led by Jyotiraditya Scindia. According to a Congress spokesperson, the party was scheduled to announce candidature of 176 but last minute the plan got postponed.
The INC led by Kamalnath and campaign committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia is finding it difficult to make a decision regarding the tickets owing to a high number of aspirants. There is also the feeling among workers that the party stands a good chance of ousting BJP government. Meanwhile, the administration in both parties are facing a severe backlash from supporters aspirants who did not get tickets for the assembly elections. Last night, police was deployed in the offices of BJP and Congress to avoid any violence as witnessed in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
