Madhya Pradesh: Rawat Cries ‘Sabotage’ in Bypoll Defeat, Rules Out Leaving BJP

Bhopal: Veteran leader Ramnivas Rawat who jumped over to BJP from Congress before the last Lok Sabha election and subsequently became a member of the Mohan Yadav cabinet has attributed his loss in the recent by-elections to the Vijaypur Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh to the alleged sabotage in the polls.

The six-time MLA Mr Rawat, considered a tall leader in Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh, lost to Congress candidate Mukesh Malhotra, a tribal, in the recently held by-election in the seat by a margin of over 7,000 votes.

“Some people felt that their influence (in BJP) will diminish if I won the by-elections. I was not defeated by the people in the Assembly constituency. I was defeated due to the sabotage (by some leaders in BJP)”, he said.

Sources close to him indicated that some BJP heavyweights in the Gwalior-Chambal region of the state were apprehensive of his growing stature in the ruling party after he joined the saffron outfit and may not have evinced keenness to ensure his victory in the by-elections.

Mr Rawat was state executive president of Congress before he resigned from the grand old party to join BJP barely a month before the recent LS elections.

His induction in the BJP had helped the party win the Morena LS seat in the last polls, sources said.

BJP had deployed at least a dozen party MLAs to campaign for Mr Rawat in the Vijaypur by-elections.

Besides, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma had also campaigned extensively in the by-elections.

Mr Rawat however ruled out the possibility of leaving BJP following his defeat in the by-elections.

He said that a rumour has been spread that he would quit BJP after his loss in the by-elections.

“I have integrated into BJP fully and there is no question of leaving the party”, he said.

Mr Rawat quit the ministry immediately after he lost the by-elections.

Speculations are rife in the political circles here about his political future with the septuagenarian leader entering his twilight years of his political career.

Two Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh had gone to by-elections recently.

The BJP has retained the Budhni seat which had gone to by-elections along with Vijaypur.

By-elections to Budhni necessitated the election of sitting MLA Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the LS in the recent polls.

Mr Chouhan has been inducted into the Union cabinet.