MP losses in mind, BJP gears up for Betul

But what has prodded the Government into working up a furious pace is the series of losses the ruling party suffered in the recent bypolls. The BJP has lost five out of the last 10 bypolls, including three recent consecutive defeats. From school buildings to electricity sub-stations to bridges and fire brigade units, the Government promises are flowing thick and fast before the electoral code of conduct takes effect. The Government is not leaving anything to chance because three of the six constituencies in Betul district have MLAs belonging to the Opposition parties.

Multai has been declared a holy city (Pavitra Nagari) because the Tapti originates from here. The status will allow the local administration to ban the sale of meat and eggs in the town. In Sirali village of Harda district, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday laid foundation stones for development works totalling Rs 85 crore in one go.

What has helped the districts’ cause is that Revenue Minister Kamal Patel’s constituency falls in Harda district and he is the in-charge minister of Betul district.

Only Budhni, Bada Malhera and Vidisha by-elections saw the Government in such a mode. Budhni was important because Chouhan was contesting from there and Vidisha because he had vacated it. The ruling party had also paid a special attention to Bada Malhera because Uma Bharati held it before quitting the BJP.

However, the hurry with which the announcements are being made has taken its toll. “Though the Government has already notified in the gazette the upgraded status of Athner Nagarpalika, it did not stop Chouhan from promising it again,” said Masod MLA Sukhdev Panse.

Several projects that are in progress or are already allotted under the Centrally-funded schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme are being passed off as new works, the Congress MLA alleged.

So, while the Chief Minister was laying scores of foundation stones at one place, the Congress, worried that the announcements might lure voters, was squatting in the Betul Collectorate with a list of works that have only remained on paper.