Vijayvargiya,the kalakar to both friends and opponents

Mhow Ambedkar Nagar is on the radar of the Election Commission for being one of the expenditure sensitive constituencies in Madhya Pradesh. The reason was on full display Saturday when campaigning was drawing to a close. For hours,BJP foot soldiers,many imported from Indore,flexed their muscles as they moved in the bylanes,a reflection of Vijayvargiyas ability to martial resources at his command.

He is the partys go-to man when it comes to organising major events like a global investors summit or a political gathering in Indore,his home turf. He moved to Mhow in 2008 to enable his confidant Ramesh Mendola to contest from Indore-2,the constituency he represented previously. Both controversial leaders won.

It surprised few to see Mendola with his mentor in Mhow Saturday and not in his own constituency. Though he has been a legislator for years now,Mendola still sends SMSes on behalf of his leader to prove his loyalty.

Vijayvargiya commands a force of such loyal supporters and is well connected within the party. He proved this by getting several big leaders to campaign for him,including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan,celebrities and national leaders.

Shatrughan Sinha,who trooped in an hour before the deadline,too used the description kalakar neta for the BJP candidate.

The BJPs Muslim faces,Shahnawaz Hussain and Najma Heptullah,too chipped in to woo minority voters.

Former Congress chief minister Digvijaya Singh rarely uses any other word to describe the BJP minister,who was once considered No 2 in the Chouhan government before corruption scandals lowered his stature. He remains an ardent admirer of Narendra Modi.

The Congresss only big rally was addressed by its campaign committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia,who trounced Vijayvargiya in the last two elections to the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association,probably the only defeat that has come the latters way in a long time.

Vijayvargiya never forgets to talk about his humble roots. When campaigning began early this month,he made it a point to run the family grocery shop in Indore for a few minutes for cameras.

Darbars supporters insist that was a thing of the past.

When Darbar offers Rs 10 his BJP rival spends Rs 500, alleges a former Congress activist.

Darbar is targeting not only Vijayvargiyas alleged manipulative skills but also his status as an outsider. Even though Darbar lost in 2008,he remained in touch with the people. He is always accessible,unlike Vijayvargiya who lives in Indore, says M L Panchal,a resident of Mhow.

The BJP candidate associates himself with development,pointing at a railway over bridge as one of his biggest achievements.

Ummido,armano aur khwahisho ki jeet ke liye fir Shivraj fir Kailash for hopes,aspirations and desires choose Shivraj and Kailash again, read Vijayvargiyas hoardings.

In a stark contrast,Darbar highlights his lack of wealth and says he wont offer enticements to lure voters. I am where I was, reads one of his hoardings.

Vijayvargiyas supporters insist he is as popular in Mhow as he is in Indore. They say crowds that come to cheer him arrive from nearby villages,not Indore. He will win by at least 20,000 votes,unlike the margin of a little over 9,000 in 2008, says businessman Roshan Sharma. He explains the margin was low five years ago because Vijayvargiya had wrested the seat from the Congress.