Two days ago, when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj declared that she will not contest next Lok Sabha polls, there were a few who were really happy. These were BJP leaders from Madhya Pradesh who were opposed to Swaraj being given a ticket in the last two Parliamentary polls from Vidisha constituency in the state.
Vidisha is one of the few constituencies in the country which favours the BJP almost always, except in 1984 and 1989. Becoming a party candidate from Vidisha is like getting a sure seat in the Parliament.
Swaraj had famously said in April 2009 when she was nominated as the BJP candidate from Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency that “those who contest from Bellary are always honoured with a nomination from constituency like Vidisha (Jo Bellary ladta hai use Vidisha milta hai)”. She had contested against Sonia Gandhi from Bellary in Karnataka in 1999 and lost.
However, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who represented Vidisha five times, had always treated the Lok Sabha constituency as his pocket borough. Though Chouhan is a resident of Sehore district, he has a house, agriculture land and a dairy farm located on the banks of river Betwa in Vidisha.
After Chouhan quit the Lok Sabha seat in 2005 to become the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, he wanted his wife Sadhna Singh Chouhan to contest from there. However, the seat went to his loyalist Rampal Singh.
From the very beginning, saffron party leaders from the state were opposed to the idea of Swaraj being offered Vidisha, but nobody could question the move as the decision was taken by the party high command.
After the seat went to Swaraj, there were expectations that she would convert it into a VIP constituency by granting various Union government schemes. However, during her tenure as leader of opposition, and later as external affairs minister, the constituency wasn't offered anything substantial.
According to Abhishek Raghuvanshi, a farmer leader from the area, Swaraj has been an absentee public representative. There had been instances when posters calling her 'missing member of parliament' were pasted in various parts of the constituency.
Raghuvanshi said Swaraj had barely made a dozen visits to her constituency. She may have cited her poor health as the reason to not context in the next elections, but it is also a fact that she has become quite unpopular not just among the electorate, but the BJP leaders as well.
According to a senior BJP leader who is close to Chouhan, “It was an understanding between the chief minister and Swaraj that she will leave the place whenever the chief minister desires”.
As there are indications that the upcoming assembly elections in the state may not go in favour of the BJP, chances are there that the Vidisha seat may return to Chouhan or his family. His son Kartikey Chouhan is a prospective candidate for the constituency. Kartikey, who is presently campaigning for his father, will turn 25 next year.
Meanwhile, there are indications that Swaraj's announcement that she will not context in the next Lok Sabha polls may send across a wrong message to the voters ahead of the assembly elections.
Nonetheless, many ticket aspirants in the state are happy as they now have a chance to contest from the safest BJP seat.
