Toss-up between Congress, BJP in Chhattisgarh

By Sujeet Kumar, Raipur, Nov 4 : The Congress in Chhattisgarh is displaying a rare united front as it fights for the lone assembly seat to which a by-election will be held Saturday. Pundits say it is the party's first show of unity since losing power in the state in 2003, mainly due to intra-party bickering.

The by-poll in the Vaishali Nagar constituency in Durg district became necessary after legislator Saroj Pandey of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected to the Lok Sabha in May and vacated the assembly seat that she won in the November 2008 polls by a margin of nearly 22,000 votes.

Though 15 candidates are in the fray, the main fight is between Jageshwar Sahu of the BJP and Bhajan Singh Nirankari of the Congress.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the third force in Chhattisgarh politics, has decided to stay out of the contest.

The Congress has deployed all its local top guns including state president Dhanendra Sahu, leader of opposition Ravindra Choubey and most of its 38 legislators for door-to-door campaigning to woo about 211,000 voters.

The BJP has also been pulling out all stops to retain the seat, mainly relying on its proven 'booth management' formula by which it ensures that all its supporters actually come out and vote on polling day.

However, its prospects have taken a knock due to the entry into the fray of independent candidate Riti Deshlahre, backed by local heavyweight and four-time BJP MP from Durg Tarachand Sahu, who was expelled from the party this January.

"As of now it looks like a toss-up between the Congress and the BJP. The battle is sure to be close," political analyst Anil Vibhakar told IANS.

He added that the result would set the tone for the state's local bodies elections expected in December-January.

A voter who lives in the Nehru Nagar area, Vipin Yadav, a native of Uttar Pradesh and one of 40,000-odd migrants from northern India who live in this constituency, commented: "We elected BJP leader Saroj Pandey with high hopes. But she ditched us within six months. We plan to go for the Congress this time."

But a teacher of the Adarsh Nagar area, Poonam Sahu, stated: "We have no issues with the BJP. We need development and a legislator who cares about our civic problems. For this, the BJP still tops our list."

But the Congress can sense a possible win and has called for the campaign its national treasurer Motilal Vora, who is from Durg district, and union minister V. Narayanasamy, the party-in-charge of Chhattisgarh. Congress veteran and the state's first chief minister Ajit Jogi is also campaigning extensively.

--IANS