Bhopal: Exposing the fissures in BJP’s Madhya Pradesh unit, Lok Sabha speaker and Indore’s sitting MP Sumitra Mahajan skipped the party’s ‘Main Hun Chowkidar’ programme in Indore on Sunday.
The BJP is yet to announce Mahajan’s name for re-nomination. She has represented Indore in Lok Sabha for eight times.
Apart from Mahajan, former minister Mahendra Hardiya and MLA Akash Vijayvargiya, son of BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, also remained absent from the event.
Speaking to News18, MLAs Ramesh Mendola and Malini Gaud who attended the event, denied having information about Mahajan’s absence.
Mahajan is among few top leaders of the BJP who have avoided prefixing ‘Chowkidar’ to their Twitter handles.
Earlier, Mahajan had denied speaking on re-nomination, but had said that she was working persistently in favour of her party.
Speculations are rife that the BJP is reconsidering Mahajan’s candidature citing ‘age factor’. She will be turning 76 on April 12.
Names including Kailash Vijayvargiya, Mahajan’s old adversary in Indore politics, MLA and the mayor Malini Gaud, wife of late MP minister Laxman Singh Gaud, and Mhow MLA Usha Thakur are reportedly being considered for Indore seat.
With the Congress government hanging on a thin majority in Assembly, it seems a bit tricky that the BJP, which has 109 MLAs, would invest an MLA in Lok Sabha.
However, Vijayvagiya having the crucial responsibility in West Bengal as in charge is highly unlikely given Indore candidature.
Sources also claimed that the BJP could eventually go back to Mahajan as the candidate after weighing all the available options.
The Congress is repeatedly attacking the BJP for not naming Mahajan so far. “We have handpicked five aspirants and would name our candidate within one hour of the BJP announcing its candidates,” PWD minister Sajjan Singh Verma said.