Being known as the stronghold of the Scindia family so far, Gwalior is now trying to get a different identity. A large number of people of Gwalior took pride in the fact that three of the jets which took part in the air strike against terror camps in Pakistan flew from Gwalior. “Now everybody in India as well as in Pakistan know about Gwalior from where the jets took off to demolish terror camps. It was a special moment for us, we thoroughly enjoyed it,” said a resident of Khedapati Colony.
Congress is a divided house in Gwalior. A senior leader Prabal Pratap Singh Mawai made a comment against Jyotiraditya Scindia, saying some Congress leaders from Delhi are working to ensure defeat of the Congress candidate in Gwalior. The video of his speech became viral, following which the state party leadership expelled him for six years.
After the Election Commission banned Bhopal’s BJP candidate Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from campaigning for 72 hours, many local BJP leaders also took the opportunity to “relax”. On the first day of the ban, Pragya Singh visited several temples of the city and took part in “kirtan”. However, the local party leaders stayed away from door-to-door campaign and public meetings. One party worker was heard saying “Is the ban for Pragya Thakur or for all the party leaders?” However, those associated with the RSS were seen actively doing door-to-door campaign.
As BJP leaders feel embarrassed after the EC banned Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from campaigning, Bhopal’s Congress candidate mocked his rival saying: “BJP could not find a single member from their party who could fight me. So they got Sadhviji. I welcome her. EC has barred her for three days from campaigning, though we want her to campaign and keep giving statements. It helps us.”
A peculiar situation has arisen in Guna constituency where the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Lokendra Singh Rajput joined the Congress in support of Jyotiraditya Scindia. Since he did not withdraw his candidature before the time limit for doing so, his name and symbol remained on the EVM machine. So, though he is in Congress, his vote will go in favour of BSP. BSP supremo Mayawati is said to be furious with Rajput and has appealed to the voters to press the button in front of the elephant symbol.
Declaration of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the United Nations has become a talking point of election rallies and public meetings. India’s diplomatic victory on the terror front has come as a shot in the arm for BJP leaders who are explaining to the voters how the Modi government has been actively working to curb the menace of terrorism. As it is, the air strike in Balakot has become a hot topic during the election campaigning in MP. There is a sense of pride among the voters on the air strike against terrorists.
navtan kumar