BJP turncoat and Congress candidate Mukesh Malhotra pulled off a surprising victory Saturday towards sitting BJP Cupboard minister and OBC face Ram Niwas Rawat within the Chambal area’s Vijaypur bypoll.
Malhotra marched to victory with a margin of seven,364 votes towards the six-time MLA Rawat, who was earlier with the Congress and switched to the BJP in April 2024, forward of the Lok Sabha elections. The transfer had unsettled the Congress, which misplaced important affect within the area throughout a interval fraught with factionalism within the state Congress with hypothesis swirling round former chief minister Kamal Nath’s future transfer.
Rawat’s exit was attributed to his discontent over the Congress saying Satyapal Singh Sikravar (Neetu) as its candidate for the Morena Lok Sabha seat. Rawat was adequately rewarded for his resolution with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav handing him the Forest Ministry.
Rawat’s resolution to resign from the Meeting and be a part of the BJP necessitated the first-ever bypolls in Vijaypur. Rawat gained the Vijaypur Meeting seat for the primary time in 1990 and retained it in 1993. Although the BJP grabbed its management in 1998, Rawat regained the seat in 2003 and held it in 2008 and 2013. He misplaced it once more in 2018, however then reclaimed it for Congress in 2023, offering Congress a second of uncommon jubilation in a state the place the social gathering has in any other case struggled to remain related.
With a Cupboard minister within the fray giving the competition the high-stakes tag, there have been allegations of sales space capturing and incidents of violence within the aftermath of the polls.
Malhotra, who had served because the chairman of the Saharia Growth Authority, joined Congress in 2024. His sturdy ties to the Saharia neighborhood and grassroot activism bolstered his marketing campaign because the neighborhood types a large voter base of 60,000 in Vijaypur constituency.
“Within the 2023 elections, the tribals voted for Rawat as a result of he represented the Congress, and tribals abandoned him on this seat as a result of Malhotra campaigned towards him. Rawat has affect within the OBC communities however there are round 30,000 voters solely,” a senior Congress chief mentioned.
Regardless of contesting as an unbiased within the 2023 elections, Malhotra garnered 44,000 votes which mirrored the tribal assist he enjoys within the Chambal area and indicated his rising affect, significantly among the many marginalised teams.
Each events kicked up a storm with their aggressive campaigning. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state Congress chief Jitu Patwari visited the area a number of instances. However absence of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for BJP’s marketing campaign was conspicuous and raised questions on the social gathering’s unity throughout an important election.
With the Congress describing Rawat as a “traitor” throughout its marketing campaign, Malhotra projected himself as “right down to earth and a pleasant politician” and attacked his rival claiming that “Vijaypur area ranks first in malnutrition, tops the maternal and toddler mortality charge, and is amongst probably the most backward areas within the nation.”
The Mayawati-led BSP’s resolution to not area any candidate ensured that votes weren’t chipped away as in 2023, BSP candidate Dhara Singh Kushwaha bagged over 34,000 votes, predominantly from the Dalit and Kushwaha communities.
In the meantime, in Budhni constituency, BJP’s Ramakant Bhargava was main by 11,310 votes towards Congress’s Rajkumar Patel, in line with the Election Fee web site. The bypoll was necessitated after former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was elected to the Lok Sabha from Vidisha and he vacated the seat. Chouhan was inducted into the BJP-led NDA Cupboard and allotted the important thing agriculture ministry.
