Madhya Pradesh polls: Suicide and protests over Congress tickets

Head constable Bhanwarlal Malviya of Agar police station told The Indian Express that Narsingh had told his 19-year-old son he would kill himself after being denied a ticket. A local functionary of the Congress,he had reportedly sought a ticket even in the past. The police did not recover any suicide note and said they were yet to take statements from the family.

Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan had to suffer the wrath of party workers when she was reportedly locked in a room in Neemuch Thursday. They were angry because Rajkumar Ahir had been denied the ticket to Jawad. Natarajan could not be contacted.

A group of workers ransacked the party headquarters in Bhopal to register their protest against the official candidate from Silwani constituency Devendra Patel,who joined the party only recently. Patel had won the 2008 election as a candidate of Uma Bhartis erstwhile party,which later merged with the BJP. After Patel joined the Congress late last month,leader of the opposition Ajay Singh had opined that newcomers should not be fielded.

Congress vice-president Manak Agrawal,who resigned from his post late on Wednesday,accused former union minister Suresh Pachouri of striking a deal with a mining corporation and the BJP to deny Agrawal the ticket. Agrawal said he had nursed Hoshangabad constituency since the party lost by a narrow margin in 2008. He alleged that Pachouri,a former PCC chief,had accepted money in the last election from ticket-seekers,which resulted in the partys loss.

Pachouri,who has been given the ticket to Bhojpur,said Agrawal did not deserve the ticket because he had lost more than two assembly elections.

BJP too faces attack

A group of unidentified persons ransacked the BJP headquarters on Thursday. The attackers had come in vehicles and smashed the glass partition at the entrance. Security had been recently stepped up in view of constant protests.