BHOPAL: On the last day of filing nominations for the upcoming bypolls, Congress party’s Deepak Bhuria turned rebel and filed his papers as independent candidate from Jobat assembly seat in Alirajpur. At the other end, BJP’s ticket aspirant Pushpendra Bagri filed his nomination as independent for Raigaon.
Both Deepak Bhuria and Pushpendra Bagri were in the race for candidature in their party but were denied tickets.
Congress gave the ticket to its Alirajpur district president Mahesh Patel in ST reserved Jobat and BJP to its Satna district general secretary Pratima Bagri in SC reserved Raigaon. Deepak Bhuria is nephew of deceased MLA from Jobat seat Kalawati Bhuria and was expecting candidature of the Congress party. Denied ticket, Deepak Bhuria turned rebel and PCC chief Kamal Nath sent former minister Sajjan Singh Verma to pacify him. It did not work as Bhuria alone walked into the collectorate on Friday and filed his nomination.
State Congress is still hopeful that Bhuria will withdraw his nomination and extend support to party candidate Mahesh Patel. Speaking to TOI, state PCC spokesman Narendra Saluja said, “Deepak Bhuria is a member of the Congress family. He asked for the ticket to contest from Jobat but we know he will withdraw his nomination papers and campaign for Mahesh Patel.” PCC media department vice-president Bhupendra Gupta said, “Deepak Bhuria is a little emotional right now, that is why he filed the nomination as independent. Party leaders are in touch with him. He will be made to understand the situation and will withdraw his papers.”
Last day for nomination withdrawal is October 16.
BJP’s Pushpendra Bagri is son of deceased BJP MLA Jugal Kishore Bagri, who won the seat five times. Pushpendra Bagri was aspirant for the BJP’s ticket from the seat his father represented in the assembly for three decades. But BJP central leadership decided not to give tickets to family members of the deceased people’s representatives this bypoll.
While denying ticket from Raigaon to Pushpendra Bagri, BJP also refused a ticket to Harsh Singh Chouhan who is son of six-times Khandwa MP late Nandkumar Singh Chouhan. Harsh Singh Chouhan has also expressed his displeasure to the party after being denied the ticket from Khandwa where BJP has fielded Nandkumar Singh Chouhan’s close aide Gyaneshwar Patil.
After Pushpendra Bagri filed his nomination as independent from Raigaon, state BJP said that organization went by the acceptability, hard-work and winnability of party workers and not families of the deceased leaders.
