Congress strategically offers tickets to non-SC turncoat candidates in MP Assembly polls

New Delhi, Nov 12: The Congress has mostly given ticket to upper caste and a few OBCs who have parachuted to the party just before the elections despite the fact that Congress president Rahul Gandhi made a commitment around two months ago that only party workers would be given tickets in Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.

He had assured ticket seekers that parachuters would not be entertained but out of 229 candidates at least 10 are parachuters who were brought in by the senior leaders of the Congress only including state Congress president Kamal Nath. Many of these leaders are being opposed by the Congress workers who are contesting election as the Congress candidates.

Indication of Abhay Mishra joining the Congress started coming when he was arrested in Dewas during the last session of Madhya Pradesh Assembly and his wife sitting on Dharna. After some times State Congress president Kamal Nath and state Congress in-charge Deepak Babaria announced their joining the party in Delhi. His name figured in the first list of the Congress. Similarly woman BJP leader Padma Shukla was given membership of the Congress during Kamal Nath's visit to his constituency Chhindwara. Padma was chairperson of the Social Welfare Department.

She joined the Congress after she had lost hope of getting ticket from Vijayraghavgarh after the BJP had named Sanjay Pathak as its candidate from there. She resigned from her post to join the Congress. Her name too figured in the first list of the Congress. Similarly Sanjay Singh Masani, brother-in-law of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was introduced to the Congress high command recently in Delhi. It is said that there was a role of a big industrialist in Masani joining the Congress and getting ticket. Masani wished ticket from Waraseoni and had got assurance. He got ticket from the constituency he had wished for.

Suresh Pachauri brought Sartaj Singh and Sanjay Sharma to the party fold to tell his importance to the party and Sartaj Singh got ticket from Hoshangabad. Sanjay Sharma joined the party in the presence of Rahul Gandhi and got ticket from Narsinghpur in the first list. Rashtriya Samata Dal MP Sukhlal Kushwaha's son Sidhdharth Kushwaha organised a programme to honour Kamal Nath after he took over as state party chief. He was assured party ticket then only and has been declared Congress candidate from Satna.

Former MLA and BSP leader Vidyawati Patel joined around a month ago but has been made the Congress candidate and her entry into the party was facilitated by Kamal Nath and leader of Opposition in Assembly Ajay Singh. She was declared a Congress candidate from Deotalab. Deepak Babaria spoke to Dr Hiralal Alawa who was active among tribals who demanded Kukshi seat of the Assembly but when it was opposed as sitting MLA Surendra Singh Baghel's ticket was being given to him so he was offered Manawar seat by Babaria. He too got his name in the first list.