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In Vidisha, the BJP is confident

By Lalit Shastri

VIDISHA (MADHYA PRADESH), APRIL 20. Bharatiya Janata Party workers from all the Assembly constituencies falling within the Vidisha Parliamentary constituency turned out in large numbers today to lend support to the BJP national general secretary, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who filed his nomination papers this afternoon making a determined bid to retain the Vidisha seat for the fifth time in a row.

Before filing his nomination, Mr. Chauhan offered prayers at a local temple and addressed a huge public rally at the crowded Madhavganj Square in the heart of the city. The State Finance Minister, Raghavji, and the State Minister for Energy, Gauri Shankar Shejwar, also addressed the rally before they went in procession to the Collectorate where they proposed Mr. Chauhan's candidature before the Returning Officer.

The turnout at today's public rally was huge. The BJP hoardings, banners, buntings and welcome arches all over the city gave the impression as if the BJP was already in a victory mood. While addressing the rally, the State Finance Minister even went to the extent of saying "one gets the feeling that the battle has already been won by the BJP''. The other speakers were however more cautious in their observations as they said that the BJP workers will have to fan out and go from door- to -door to ensure the maximum percentage of voting in favour of the BJP. "It is actually the party workers who win the elections,'' said Mr. Chauhan in the same context.

Mr. Chauhan told The Hindu before addressing the public rally that the voting pattern this time would be moulded by the "immensely positive image of the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the good work done by his Government''. The BJP would also sweep the polls due to the pro-incumbency factor. Besides the Central Government, even the four-month- old Uma Bharti Government has taken plenty of initiative for the sake of development and welfare of the people, he asserted. Even from the local point of view, Mr. Chauhan said that he had done a lot for augmenting the irrigation, transport and communication facilities in the Vidisha constituency. When asked to give his comments on the Congress party's choice of candidate from Vidisha, Mr. Chauhan said that he respects his opponents and would not like to criticise any one. The Congress party's candidate, Narmada Prasad Sharma, who has recently been removed as chairman of the district cooperative bank, is yet to file his nomination.

Addressing the public rally here this afternoon, Maulana Siddique Quasmi, who represents the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Himayat Committee, appealed to the Muslims saying, "it is time for us to take a U-turn and defy those political parties that were only trying to use us to usurp the seats of power''. It would be wrong to pass a judgement against the BJP by citing the Gujarat example, he said adding there is no Government or rule of law whenever there is a riot.

`'If Gujarat becomes the yardstick to sit in judgement on the issue of secularism, would it be proper to hold so many previous Governments responsible for thousands of riots in different parts of the country since Independence?'' he asked.

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