MP | Winnability key to BJP allotting tickets, groupism ails Congress: Scindia
While making the statement, the civil aviation minister skirted the issue of his erstwhile loyalists joining the Congress in the run-up to Assembly elections.
Drawing a comparison between the BJP and Congress, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the BJP considers the winnability factor while picking candidates, whereas factionalism prevails in Congress.
In a surprise move, the BJP on August 17 named its candidates for 39 seats in Madhya Pradesh for the upcoming Assembly polls which are still months from being officially announced by the Election Commission.
“Here (in BJP) there is neither mine nor yours (in ticket distribution). All are part of the Bharatiya Janata Party. There is no groupism in BJP like Congress. The person who stands a good chance of victory gets nominated. This is the BJP's policy,” Scindia in Gwalior on Sunday (August 20).
He was responding to a query on the saffron party denying tickets to his loyalists in its first list. Notably, at least five loyalists of Scindia, who joined the BJP in March 2020, have so far returned to the Congress fold in the last two months in the run-up to elections in Madhya Pradesh. The latest crossover is of BJP working committee member Samandar Patel, who rejoined Congress two days back.
In the poll list, Ranveer Jatav, one of the lieutenants of Scindia, couldn't find a place. Jatav had defeated BJP's SC (Scheduled Caste) cell chief Lalsingh Arya by more than 23,000 votes from Gohad in Bhind district in the previous election. He resigned in March 2020 along with other Congress MLAs of the Scindia camp and contested the bypoll as a BJP nominee in November but lost to Mevaram Jatav of Congress.
Responding to a query on Congress' claim that a 50 per cent commission raj was prevailing in Madhya Pradesh under the BJP government, Scindia asked the opposition party to introspect. “In their (Congress) 15-month rule in MP (from December 2018 to March 2020), farmers, youths and women were betrayed. In contrast, the BJP government works for good governance and the welfare of people,” the civil aviation minister added.
(With agency inputs)
