‘Vote Cong MLA, and not a single brick will get laid here’: In Shivraj Chouhan’s old seat, son on campaign

The video shows Kartikey addressing a public rally in Budhni, and saying that if the election result is close, “how will we face our leaders to ask for work?”.

“Agar 19-20 hota hai toh aap samajhiye kiska nuksaan hoga. Apne pairon (pe) hum kyun kulhadi marein bhai? Apni polling mein gadbadi karke hum kyun apni izzat kharab karein? Kya humko nahin jaana apne mukhyamantri ke paas apna kaam karaane ke liye? Kya humko nahin jaana apne adarniya Krishi Mantri ke saath kaam karaane ke liye (If, by any chance, a Congress MLA wins here… then you realise who will suffer. Why would we harm ourselves? Why would we ruin our own reputation by causing polling irregularities? Don’t we have to go to our Chief Minister to get work done? Don’t we have to approach our honorable Agriculture Minister for our work)?” Kartikeya says.

Addressing the sarpanch, he adds: “Bataayiye sarpanch ji, kaise karayenge aap kaam? Jawab deejiye mujhe, agar 19-20 hua, kiss munh se jayenge hum humare netaon ke pass kaam karaane ke liye? Kaunsi sadak leke jaoge? Agar galti se bhi Congress ka vidhayak – waise hone wala nahin hai – lekin galti se bhi aa jaata hai, toh ek eent kisi ke gaon mein nahin lagne waali hai, samajh lena aap sab (Tell me, sarpanch ji, how will you get work done? Answer me, if things go wrong, how will you go to our leaders to get work done? What road will you take? If, even by mistake the Congress MLA wins – though that is not going to happen – then not a brick will be laid in any village, you understand that).”

As the video became public, former chief minister and Congress leader Digvijaya said his advice to Kartikey was “to learn from his father”. “In a democracy, both the government and the opposition work together to build the nation. I was Chief Minister for 10 years, but I never used this kind of language – your father is a witness to this… You are like a grandson to me, not just a son. This is my opinion – you may accept it or not, that’s up to you,” Digvijaya posted on X.

Kartikey responded by saying that the people of Budhni were still scared of Digvijaya’s 10-year rule as CM. “I respect Digvijaya Singh… It gives me happiness that chacha sahab (Singh) looks at my statements from a close distance. On the other hand, when it comes to his statements, and that of Congress leaders, they only talk about fear. I would like to say this, ‘Respected Digvijaya uncle, if anyone is scared of anything… it is your ten-year rule, in which you left… a state of destruction.”

BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja also defended Kartikey’s statements, saying they were “aimed at boosting the morale of BJP workers”. “He was saying that it would be difficult to get work done with a Congress MLA.”

The BJP has fielded Ramakant Bhargava for the November 13 Budhni Assembly bypoll. But, senior BJP leaders, including Saluja, said that it was Kartikey who is “running the whole campaign in Budhni”. Over the past few days, he has been meeting party workers at booth, mandal and block levels.

Kartikey brushes aside any suggestion that he wanted the Budhni seat ticket for himself, saying that he doesn’t need one “to visit my father’s home base”. Bhargava, Kartikeya has said, is like his “grandfather” and he was just helping his campaign.

Asked about his political ambitions at a gathering at the start of the campaign, Kartikey said: “Mein aaj se nahin, 20 saal, 10 saal se aa raha hoon aap logon ke beech mein, ghoom raha hoon. Mujhe ticket nahin mila, mujhe pata hai. Aage bhi koi nahin hai mujhe mile (It’s not the first time I have come here, I have been coming for 10-20 years, been amidst you. I didn’t get the ticket, I know. There is no guarantee I will get it in the future either). Still, I am amidst you. You know why? Because I love all of you, care for your well-being. Isiliye apna bhala-bhura aap bhi samajhiye (So you too think about what’s good for you).”

The BJP Budhni campaign has had its share of candidate troubles already. Rajendra Singh Rajput, a former MLA who resigned from the Assembly in 2005 to first make way for Chouhan, who won and went to become the CM, was not happy about Bhargava being picked – now that Chouhan had moved on to Parliament. It was Kartikey who pacified Rajput’s supporters, later claiming that Congress members disguised as BJP workers were trying to spread “dissatisfaction”.

Chouhan, who won from the Vidisha seat in this year’s Lok Sabha polls, represented Budhni for the first time in 1990, and later won it five consecutive times, from 2006 till 2023.