Uma's prestige at stake from Tikamgarh constituency

Tikamgarh, MP, Nov 22 (UNI) The candidature of Bharatiya Janshakti party (BJS) founder-president and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti has made Tikamgarh constituency create headlines in the assembly polls.

Ms Bharti is pitted against BJP candidate and state Food and Supplies Minister Akhand Pratap Singh, Congress candidate Yadvendra Singh and Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Anil Jain Badkul in the four-cornered constituency, where her prestige was at stake.

Besides Ms Bharti, resident of Dunda village, where no bigwig ventured for campaigning, has which pumped in energy in the party workers.

The BJS is raising the alleged failures of the BJP government and local issues by alleging that the region did not get sufficient rain still the state government did not supply them proper power for irrigation. The BJS has also raised the deteriorating law and order issue.

Ensured by the victory, the Sadhvi claimed that her party would garner majority votes and would play a key role in the formation of a new state government.

No big leader arrived here to campaign for Mr Singh, who changed many parties and created headlines with controversial statements.

Hence, victory seems a hard nut to crack for the BJP leader.

Mr Singh defeated Samajwadi Party candidate Yadvendra Singh with the margin of 2,129 votes in the 2003 assembly polls. Now the latter has been contesting on the Congress ticket.

Claiming an unpredictable result by wooing Jain community votes, Mr Badkul is fully geared up for the polls since he was declared as party candidate six months ago.

A total of 27 candidates have been trying their fortunes in the fray in this constituency, where number of voters are 1,49,200, including 69,715 female voters, to cast votes at 178 poll stations.

Out of 12 assembly polls the Congress claimed the seat seven times, Socialist Party (2), BJP (3) and one time by an independent.

Ms Bharti won Khajuraho Lok Sabha seat in 1984 and represented the seat till mid-term polls conducted in 1998.

Later, in 1998, she contested and won from Bhopal Lok Sabha ticket.

In 2003, the BJP already projected Ms Bharti as chief ministerial nominee, when she was contesting from Chhatarpur's Rajmalehra constituency.

Aiming to set new political equations, she formed the BJS in 2006 by resigning from the Vidhan Sabha's membership.

UNI XC-KV LPB RN1145