Most of these by-elections which have been caused by defections will be remembered for many “firsts”. The most important “first” was the removal of Kamal Nath from the list of official Congress campaigners. Perhaps it is for the first time that head of the state unit of a prominent party and also former Chief Minister has been asked by none less than the Election Commission to stop campaigning for his party. The Election Commission’s directive has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The Congress party feels that this was a partisan act of the Election Commission favouring the BJP.

Besides Kamal Nath BJP’s all India General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya also met the same fate when Election Commission inflicted punishment on him. The list of those who faced Election Commission’s punitive action is long.

During the campaign both the parties instead of talking about their ideology exchanged abuses on each other. For instance Jyotiraditya Scindia, now star campaigner of the BJP alleged that he was called “dog” by Congress leaders. Similarly Imarti Devi, who was described as “item” by Kamal Nath herself hurled choicest abuses at Kamal Nath. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also claimed that Congress leaders described him as “nangabhooka (nacked and hungry). There is long list of such ugly exchanges.

Campaigning came to an end at 6 pm on Sunday pulling down the curtains on a no holds barred battle of words that kept the Election Commission busy in the countdown to voting day.

Around 33,000 security personnel have been deployed to ensure fair and peaceful polling. As many as 335 candidates are in the fray, with BJP and Congress going head to head, and BSP hoping to win enough seats to play “kingmaker”.

Voting will be held between 7 am and 6 pm on Tuesday under strict Covid precautions. The last hour of voting will be for Covid patients, those in Corona quarantine and those found to be having higher than normal body temperature during thermal screening at the booth.

Additional chief electoral officer Arun Tomar said “by elections will be held under adequate security and by adhering to all the Covid-19 protocols”.

Election authorities fear serious law and order problem during the voting. Their concern can be appreciated from the fact that in one constituency one constable has been deployed for 180 voters each. It was in this constituency that 76 lakh rupees in cash and liquor worth Rs. 60 lakhs was seized. Similar seizures have been made in some other constituencies.

There are more than 5,038 critical polling stations and 358 vulnerable hamlets in these 28 constituencies. To ensure peaceful, transparent and secure voting, more than 250 flying squads 173 static surveillance teams, and 293 police checkposts have been deployed. Sources said that 1,493 illegal weapons have been seized in the state so far and 1.52 lakh licensed weapons deposited at police stations.

Apart from this 8,730 non bailable warrants were executed during the period of model code of conduct and cash and illegal goods worth more that Rs. 21 crore seized so far, said sources.

Kamal Nath summed up his campaign by reiterating that ‘traitors have no room in the Congress”. He said “many have quit the Congress and many have joined it but there is no room for traitors in the party. The one who is sold is sold forever,” he said adding that he has never done politics of bargaining.

He said when he was the chief minister he came to know about the ‘purchasing’ of legislators three months in advance, but he did not want to run a government based on treachery. He said he wanted to run a government elected by the people.

Nath said that he wanted the account from the BJP of its 15-year rule and was ready to give information about what he did for the state during his 15 months’ reign.

Yet he did not want a certificate from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouha, but from the people he said. Whenever the opposition is set to lose an election, it uses police, administration and money power; and all efforts were made to prevent him from electioneering Nath added.

The former chief minister further said he tells the voters to take the money offered to them, because it is theirs. Nath said that the BJP tried to divert the people’s attention from the farmers’ problems, youths and investment and that he never called Jyotirditya Scindia a dog.

According to Nath, Scindia sometimes calls himself a tiger and becomes ashamed of it. The BJP also tried to make one of his statements an issue though he never offended anyone and regretted for it, Nath said now that people have seen Shivraj Singh Chouhan for 15 years and him only for 15 months, they will feel the difference” Nath said.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan summed up BJP’s campaign by accusing Kamal Nath of ignoring state’s development and not sanctioning any penny for many of the constituencies.

“Kamal Nathji has not given one and a quarter rupees during his one and a quarter years of tenure to ensure development” said Chouhan.

Chouhan also claimed that this prompted many Congress MLAs to resign and join BJP.

“Nath discontinued most of my public welfare schemes. I am going to restart all these schemes for the citizens” Chouhan said. Chouhan also took a dig at the Congress candidates and said that the true meaning of Congress is destruction, not development”. Congress means destruction, not development. Its candidates have been demolishing shops and houses and might have also done extortion” he said.

Chouhan also criticized Nath’s ‘item’ remark against BJP leader and state minister Imarti Devi.
(IPA Service)