Nota hijacks BJP, Cong campaigns in Indore
Madhya Pradesh’s Indore is perhaps the only Lok Sabha constituency in the country where Nota (none of the above) has become the key theme of campaigns of rival parties — the BJP and the Congress — for the May 13 polls.
The Nota option has suddenly come into prominence after Indore Congress candidate Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew his nomination at the last moment, denying the grand old party to field an alternative nominee in the seat. Mr Bam later quit the Congress and joined the BJP.
State Congress president Jitu Patwari has accused the BJP of resorting to coercive measures to make Mr Bam withdraw his nomination.
However, Mr Bam later blamed Mr Patwari for the “unpleasant” decision, saying that he was “asked” to spend money in the elections, which was beyond his means.
Besides Mr Bam, 10 Independent candidates also withdrew their nominations, leaving BJP nominee Shankar Lalwani, the incumbent MP, along with 13 other Independent candidates to remain in the contest in the seat.
The development has raised the prospect of BJP candidate Lalwani getting a walkover in the polls.
The Congress has explored the option of extending support to one of the 13 Independent candidates who are in the fray to take on the BJP.
But, the party later dropped the idea after sensing that it will be a futile exercise and hence, decided to launch a campaign, appealing to voters to opt for Nota to ensure that the option gets the highest number of votes among the candidates.
“We have decided not to extend our support to any of the Independent candidates who are in the fray in the seat,” K.K. Mishra, media advisor to Mr Patwari told this newspaper on Monday.