The electric atmosphere created by a colourful ensemble of folk dancers accompanied by synchronised drummers and BJP workers carrying shiny party flags at Rajwada Chowk here resemble a victory march.
Except that the BJP’s Lok Sabha nominee, Shankar Lalwani, is filing his nomination for a second time in four days for Indore, where voting is scheduled for a distant May 19.
Mr. Lalwani’s filing of a second round of nomination papers was meant to upstage the event of Congress candidate Pankaj Sanghvi and also to rope in former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Mahila congress workers flash victory in Indore.
Mahajan’s turf
For the past eight Lok Sabha elections, Indore has always voted for Sumitra Mahajan, who has been the BJP’s choice since 1989.
However, the former Lok Sabha Speaker opted out in 2019 after the party inordinately delayed the announcement of the Indore candidate, which fuelled speculation of an internal rift.
And hence Mr. Lalwani’s repeat performance was not just a show of strength but also an attempt to show that all was well in the BJP, with both Ms. Mahajan and Mr. Chouhan in attendance at the second nomination filing event.
Rahul attacked
“The summer heat as well as election heat is breaking all records. And so is Rahul Gandhi [Congress president] who is breaking all records in telling lies,” Mr. Chouhan declared to loud cheers from the BJP workers.
“He [Mr Gandhi] used to say within 10 days, all farm loans would be waived off and used to count the number of days... one, two, three ... He promised that if the loan waiver extends to the 11th day, the Chief Minister would change,” he said.
“Now they are sending SMSs with excuses like Model Code of Conduct (MCC)... They have come to power on false promises,” he added.
The former Chief Minister said the Congress was a party that “speaks the language of terrorists”, and targeted the State government over corruption, frequent power cuts, and downsizing of popular schemes started by his government.
“Whenever there are power cuts, you will remember me,” Mr. Chouhan said.
As soon as the BJP event wound up, Congress workers, led by State Minister Jitu Patwari, trooped into the same venue with drums and party workers to escort their candidate, Pankaj Sanghvi.
It was a quieter affair — there were no speeches, much less of the glitz compared with the BJP roadshow. But there were quick rebuttals to Mr. Chouhan’s charge.
“First Shivra ji should explain his role in the e-tendering scam before lecturing us,” Mr. Patwari said.
Countering allegations on the slow pace of loan waivers, Mr. Sanghvi said, “Our government had waived loans of 22 lakh farmers and the rest will be done immediately after the MCC is removed by the Election Commission.”
The “election heat” that the former Chief Minister talked about was also on display. Workers of both the parties clashed over the slogan Chowkidar Chor hai as they marched almost side by side to the Collector’s office for the nomination of their respective candidates.
The police force, present in large numbers, however prevented the situation from turning ugly.
Farm crisis
About 40 km from Indore, at Simrol village, the election seems to be revolving around the waiver of farm loans. More specifically, whether the Congress had kept its promise of waiver within 10 days of coming to power.
During the Assembly election last year, farmer Ashish Gawli had complained about demonetisation and how it had impacted the farmer. “Today, the mood has changed as the Congress has not kept its promise. Not one person from this village has got a loan waiver,” said Mr. Gawli, who grows seasonal crops in his farm.
While other farmers from the same village were willing to give the Kamal Nath government “some more time”, it’s clear that the Congress’s tardy record of implementing its pre-poll promise will play a part.
