Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Bharatpur, Bahadur Singh Koli, has raised questions over party candidates announced for six out of seven assembly seats in the district.
Koli said normally party’s parliamentary board discusses candidates with MP of that area, which didn’t happen this time. “I was not consulted about candidates from Bharatpur district,” he said.
Koli said party’s candidate from Bayana, Ritu Banavat, will face problems because there are no voters from her caste in the constituency. “Gujjars and Jatavs dominate the Bayana constituency. The Congress is likely to field a Jatav from here, who may win because Gujjars, Jatavs and other castes will support the Congress candidate,” said the 57-year-old Lok Sabha MP.
Koli, who contested the 2013 assembly election from Weir constituency but vacated the seat to contest the Lok Sabha polls. In the by-election, Congress’s Bhajanlal Jatav won from Weir.
The Bharatpur MP said: “The Gujjars will definitely support Congress candidates this time because they think Sachin Pilot will become the chief minister if Congress is voted to power.” Koli talked about Kumher-Deeg, Nagar, Nadbai and Weir constituencies and was unsure of party candidates’ victory from any of these.
“If former royal Divya Singh, who is wife of Vishvendra Singh, contests from Kumher-Deeg, she will defeat the BJP candidate. In Nagar, sitting BJP MLA Anita Singh will find the going tough for her against BSP’s Vajiv Ali who is a Meo Muslim because maximum voters in this constituency are Meos,” the MP said.
In Nadbai, sitting BJP MLA Krishnendra Kaur ‘Deepa’ may not find it easy if her cousin and Kumher-Deeg Congress MLA Vishvendra Singh contests from here, the MP said.
People of Weir constituency will not support BJP candidate Ramswaroop Koli because he has not worked in the area. “Besides, he was accused of human trafficking when he was an MP from Bayana Lok Sabha seat before delimitation,” Koli said.
BJP spokesperson Mukesh Pareek said: “When the party took feedback, opinion of MLAS, MPS, district and mandal incharges and workers was taken. Koli too must have been consulted.”
First Published: Nov 16, 2018 15:37 IST
Source: HindustanTimes