The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : Congress' Tiwari on a sticky wicket in Rewa

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Monday, May 03, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

Congress' Tiwari on a sticky wicket in Rewa

Lalit Shastri

REWA

Sunderlal Tiwari of the Congress, who represented Rewa in the outgoing Lok Sabha, faces a formidable challenge from the BJP's Chandramani Tripathi in the May 5 election. Mr. Tripathi's election campaign has been on the fast track right from the word go; the mood among the BJP cadres is upbeat due to their party's landslide victory in the recent Assembly elections.

On the other hand, Mr. Tiwari is finding the going tough this time, particularly since his father, Shrinivas Tiwari, the former Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker, was defeated in the last round of Assembly elections. His defeat in the Mangavan constituency was an embarrassment for the Congress in the 2003 Assembly election for it was preceded by the Election Commission taking action over allegations of large-scale fudging of the electoral rolls.

There is a discernible anti-Congress wave in this constituency as evinced from the strong reactions from people at the district headquarters. The public perception is that Shrinivas Tiwari had converted the Rewa division into his personal fief, when he was the Assembly Speaker during the 10 years of Digvijay Singh's rule in the State. People still complain about the "high-handed and despotic" manner in which the senior Tiwari had been running the show when it came to transfers, postings and getting things done at all levels of the Government when he was presiding over the State Assembly.

In the present round of campaigning, as if to seek penance, the former Assembly Speaker can even be seen riding a cycle rickshaw going from door to door asking for votes in his son's favour. He is also energetically campaigning in the countryside meeting villagers and trying to strike a personal note.

Apart from the Congress party and the BJP, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party have also fielded candidates, making the contest a multi-cornered affair.

Mr. Tripathi had won the 1998 election here, defeating Bhim Singh Patel of the Bahujan Samaj Party, his nearest rival. However he had lost the 1999 election to Mr. Tiwari by a narrow margin. But even then he had stood third with the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate, Ramlakhan Singh Patel coming a close second.

In this election, the BSP has changed its candidate and fielded Pradeep Kumar Patel from Rewa, hoping to get mileage from the Patel votes. For the Samajwadi Party, Indrabhan Yadav is in the poll fray. There are 11 other candidates, some of them belonging to parties like the Janata Dal (Secular), Lok Jan Shakti, Samata Party and Gondwana Gantantra Party, testing their strength in this territory, which has the distinction of electing the first ever BSP MP in this country in the 1991 election. In that election, Bhim Singh Patel had defeated Shrinivas Tiwari, who went on to become the State Assembly Speaker in December 1993.

The former State Minister, Pushpraj Singh, a scion of the erstwhile ruling family of Rewa, was defeated in the just concluded Assembly election from the Rewa Assembly segment. He has now joined the BJP. Mr. Singh, along with his followers, will strengthen the prospects of the BJP candidate. In fact, there has been a virtual exodus from the Congress, with a large number of party workers joining the BJP in Rewa area even as campaigning is in the final stages in this constituency.

The candidates are trying to woo the voters along caste lines. Besides a massive Brahmin population, over 17 percent of the voters in this area are the agrarian Patels, while 21 per cent voters belong to the SC/ST communities.

There are also the Baghels, who dominate the scene in Rampur Baghelan and Sirmaur Assembly segments. The BJP has adopted a two-pronged strategy: while talking of local issues, it is also trying to win over the voters by seeking a vote on the basis of the performance of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government at the Centre.

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