Of 230 BJP candidates contesting the upcoming assembly elections in the state, 43 are family members of politicians.
Bhopal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be taking frequent jibes at the dynasty politics in the Congress, but the BJP seems to be promoting the same. Of 230 BJP candidates contesting the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, 43 are family members of politicians.
The first list, released on 2 November, shows that out of 176 BJP candidates, 35 are family members of senior politicians, while the second, third and fourth lists contain names of four, three and one relatives of political families, respectively.
The most prominent names are: Akash Vijayvargiya, son of BJP’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya; Krishna Gaur, daughter-in-law of former CM Babulal Gaur; and Ajit Borasi, son of former Congress MP Premchand Guddu, who recently joined the BJP.
Akash Vijayvargiya will be fighting his maiden election this year from Indore-3 seat, which is considered a tough region because of a substantial minority population in the area.
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Krishna Gaur, a former Bhopal mayor, has been fielded from Govindpura constituency in Bhopal. Govindpura has been the bastion of Babulal Gaur for decades now. Earlier, there were reports of the party wanting to avoid the veteran politician but now it looks like he has been successful in retaining the constituency within the family.
Former Congress politician Premchand Guddu, who joined the BJP recently, has also been able to field his son Ajit Borasi from Ghattiya (SC) seat in Ujjain. Apparently, he has replaced Ashok Malviya whose name figured in the first list announced on 2 November.
In addition, Fatima Rasool Siddiqui, daughter of late Congress politician Rasool Ahmed Siddiqui, will be contesting from Bhopal North constituency.
BJP leader Devi Singh Patel, who passed away recently, had been fielded from Rajpur seat in Barwani district and now his son Antar Patel has been given ticket.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who is believed to have lobbied for a ticket for her son Mandar, has been left disappointed.
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In fact, the BJP has drawn flak for what is seen as “preferential ticket distribution”, especially since the party has always accused the Congress of engaging in dynasty politics.