BJP Jabalpur city chief resigns ahead of Assembly polls

Jabalpur, Oct 29 (PTI) The BJP chief of Jabalpur city in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh resigned from his post on Sunday alleging inaction by the party’s central leadership over unruly scenes at their local office on October 21.

The resignation by Prabhat Sahu came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held divisional meetings of BJP twice here to quell apparent bitterness in the party and galvanise the cadre for next month’s electoral battle in the state.

Elections to the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly will be held on November 17.

“I am hurt with the party central leadership’s inaction against those responsible for the incident that occurred inside the BJP office on October 21,” Sahu, an OBC leader said to be close to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, told a press conference.

Sahu said he tendered his resignation to the BJP state president VD Sharma on Sunday.

Supporters of a BJP leader who was denied a ticket from the North Central seat in Jabalpur district mobbed Union minister Bhupender Yadav at the party office in the city on October 21. They also assaulted a person a security guard at the spot.

Sahu said he was depressed that such an incident happened in front of a Union minister in their office.

“The person whose supporters allegedly created a ruckus in the party office was given time to meet BJP senior leader Amit Shah yesterday (Saturday),” he said.

Instead of taking action against such persons, the party is attaching importance to them, he said.

Sahu said CCTV cameras are installed in their office and the footage of the incident is available for investigation. “If I am found involved in the incident I will quit politics. I have spoken to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in this regard,” he said.

“Shivraj Singh Chouhan is my leader and will remain my leader for my entire life,” he averred.

Sahu was vying for a ticket from Jabalpur west or Jabalpur North Central assembly segments but was not successful, according to sources close to him.

In a video of the October 21 incident that surfaced on social media, a crowd was seen jostling around Union minister Yadav, in charge of the MP BJP election campaign committee, while a security personnel was trying to protect the minister.

Some people were also seen hitting the person in the security guard’s attire, who tried to pull out a revolver while trying to control the situation.

The police arrested three persons on the charge of obstructing a public servant from discharging his duty based on the complaint lodged by Yadav's security guard. PTI COR LAL NR