Shivraj reiterates BJP’S support for the downtrodden, slams Congress

KOLARAS (SHIVPURI): Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday reiterated the BJP’S support for the downtrodden while accusing the Congress of not showing any interest in developing Kolaras and Mungaoli, two constituencies that go to the polls on February 24.

Concluding his party’s highpitch campaign for the bypolls, Chouhan asked voters to give him five months to bring about allround development. Work on existing projects would be expedited if BJP candidates were elected, he added.

The Congress won both the seats in the last assembly elections. This time round, Chouhan wants to ensure BJP victories to indicate that there is no anti-incumbency against the party’s 14-year rule in the state.

The chief minister, who has been on a whirlwind tour of the two constituencies for over a fortnight, said his government has announced various welfare measures for the tribal and backward communities in those constituencies. While backward communities dominate Mungaoli, one-sixth of the voters in Kolaras are Sahariyas.

Besides inducting three other backward classes (OBC) legislators into his cabinet, the chief minister has launched a nutrition allowance of ₹1,000 per month for each family of the Sahariya tribe.

Chouhan blamed the Congress for the underdevelopment of the two assembly constituencies falling in the crime-ridden Chambal region, stating that it has been hindering the BJP’S efforts to develop t hem. He f urther impressed upon the audience that the BJP was intent on alleviating the hardships faced by the poor and the downtrodden in the region.

Although the chief minister could not visit Kolaras town due to time constraints, others like Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and state minister Narottam Mishra made up for his absence by holding a roadshow.

The results of the elections will be declared on February 28.