MP BJP chief V.D. Sharma on Vindhya region tour ahead of Assembly polls

Bhopal, Sep 3 Madhya Pradesh BJP president and Khajuraho MP Vishnu Dutt Sharma is on a Vindhya region tour to strengthen the booth-level cadre of the party ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls.

Sharma visited Rewa and met party leaders, including Assembly Speaker Girish Gautam and former cabinet minister and MLA Rajendra Shukla besides others. On his arrival, he was accorded a warm welcome by party workers and a roadshow was carried out in Sidhi district.

Solgans raised by his supporters during his Sidhi visit projected him as the Brahmin face for the chief minister's post.

Notably, in Vidhya region, which comprises Rewa, Sidhi, Santna, Singrauli, Umaria and few others, the BJP had bagged 24 put of 30 Assembly seats in 2018. Also, this area is considered upper caste dominated, especially Rewa, Satna and Singrauli and the area is closely connected with Khajuraho, the Assembly constituency of Sharma.

Besides, Home Minister Narottam Mishra, Sharma is considered a prominent Brahmin face in BJP, who is one of the contestants for chief ministerial post, political observers said.

Sharma is visiting the Vindhya region where the panchayat and urban body elections concluded last month and the BJP has lost two crucial mayoral posts in Rewa and Singrauli. While it lost Singrauli mayoral post against debutant AAP, the party lost Rewa mayoral post after 25 years, which was a major setback specially when the BJP has all eight assembly seats and Lok Sabaha MP from the district.

In 2018, along with all eight Assembly seats in Rewa, the BJP has also managed to win Sidhi's Churhat seat, which had been a Congress dominated since the time of former HRD minister late Arjun Singh and then carried by his son Ajay Singh (Rahul). However, recently many BJP backed candidates lost elections in urban and district panchayat polls, including speaker Girish Gautam's son Vivek Gautam and ex-BJP MLA Panna Bai.A

The reason behind defeat was internal conflict and factionalism within the senior BJP leaders and it was accepted by the top party leaders in the state. Now, the party's state president Sharma is touring these districts to re-strengthen the party's local level cadres in view of asset elections.

Addressing a gathering of party cadres in Sidhi district on Friday, Sharma said: "Vindhya is the strength of the BJP. We got massive support in the last Assembly polls and will win more seats this time."

He also warned that those who have conspired against the party for their personal benefit in urban and panchayat polls, will soon be shown the door.