The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : As always, BJP sitting pretty in Vidisha

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Wednesday, Apr 28, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

As always, BJP sitting pretty in Vidisha

Lalit Shastri

VIDISHA

Vidisha has remained a BJP stronghold since the 1989 parliamentary election, when Raghavji, the present Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister, avenged his 1984 defeat and wrested the seat from the sitting Congress MP, Pratap Bhanu Sharma, by a huge margin. In the 1991 election, the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, won the Vidisha seat securing 58 per cent of the votes; his nearest rival, Pratap Bhanu Sharma of the Congress could get only 36.88 per cent votes in that election.

Though Mr. Vajpayee relinquished the Vidisha seat subsequently, it was retained by the BJP, whose candidate, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, won the by-election. There has been no looking back for Mr. Chauhan, now a national general secretary of the BJP. Having won the Vidisha seat four times in a row in 1991, 1996, 1998 and 1999, Mr. Chauhan is obviously the front-runner this time as he bids for a fifth consecutive term.

The Vidisha constituency stretches over three districts — Vidisha, Raisen and Sehore. The Assembly segments of Vidisha district that come under this parliamentary constituency are Kurvai, Basoda, Vidisha and Shamsabad. The Sanchi, Udaipura and Bhojpur Assembly segments of Raisen and the Budhni Assembly segment of Sehore district also fall within the Vidisha parliamentary constituency.

Vidisha has a rich historical background. In ancient times, it was the prosperous capital of the western dominions of the Sungas. The area is dominated by some remarkable archaeological sites, which throw light on the considerable architectural accomplishments of the period. Situated between the Betwa and Bes rivers, Vidisha had become an important trade centre by the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

Vidisha today has a vibrant agrarian economy. At the same time, it is also a vast storehouse of mineral resources that include limestone, laterite, Vindhyan sandstone, basalt and road metal clay, used mainly used for construction purposes. The Sanchi Assembly segment, famous for its Buddhist stupas, is also dominated by agriculture. Similarly, Bhojpur, another Assembly segment in Raisen district, boasts of the famous Bhojeshwar Temple popularly known as the Somnath of the East.

In the 1998 Assembly election, the Congress succeeded in making deep inroads in the Vidisha parliamentary constituency by winning three Assembly seats — Budhni, Kurvai and Basoda. In the Assembly elections held last November, barring Bhojpur, the BJP took the lead and bagged all the Assembly seats within the Vidisha parliamentary constituency. Under the prevailing circumstances, the mood of the BJP workers in all the Assembly segments of Vidisha is upbeat. An indication of their morale could be seen in the huge turnout at Vidisha on April 20 when Mr. Chauhan filed his nomination papers at the district headquarters.

Mr. Chauhan is canvassing support on the basis of Mr. Vajpayee's, "image and the good work done by his Government''. He claims that the pro-incumbency factor and his initiative to develop facilities linked with irrigation, roads, and railways will ensure his victory.

Mr. Chauhan makes particular mention of the special insurance scheme launched in this area to cover the farmers' income and the huge funds allotted for taking up projects under the Prime Minister's Rural Roads Scheme.

His main rival is the Congress' Narmada Prasad Sharma, who was recently removed as the chairman of the district cooperative bank. Vidisha residents say that Mr. Sharma's biggest hurdle is the absence of committed party workers to carry forward his campaign. Nitin Kumar Jain, who owns a paan shop at the busy Madhavganj square in Vidisha, said that the Congress was a divided house.

Ashok Jain, a trader in an adjacent lane, endorsed this view. He says that the Congress would suffer because of the lack of unity among its rank and file.

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