Bhopal: NOTA (None of the above) hogged limelight in Indore Lok Sabha constituency as campaigning for the fourth and final phase of LS polls in Madhya Pradesh ended on Saturday evening.
Indore LS constituency has come into focus as Congress, in a strange decision, chose to campaign for NOTA after party’s official candidate Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew his nomination at the last moment, denying the party to field its nominee in the seat.
The party was expected to extend support to one of the 13 independent candidates who are in the fray in the seat to take on BJP in the constituency.
But, the state party leadership has decided to campaign for NOTA to secure more votes for the provision than what BJP candidate gets, although, it would hardly make any difference in deciding the outcome of the polls in the seat.
Even if NOTA gets maximum votes, the candidate who secures fewer votes than NOTA will be declared winner.
“We want to get maximum votes for NOTA to embarrass BJP which had made Congress candidate withdraw his candidature under duress”, Congress spokesman K K Mishra has said.
BJP had taken it as a matter of prestige and intensified its campaign by launching a special drive to reach out people to persuade them not to waste their votes by pressing the NOTA button and instead vote for the saffron party.
The BJP activists were seen removing banners and posters appealing to the people to vote for NOTA to counter the drive by Congress to ‘sensitise’ voters on the necessity to opt for NOTA in Indore seat.
Sitting BJP MP Shankar Lalwani has been fielded by his party in the seat.
He takes on 13 independent candidates in the seat, making it NOTA versus BJP in the constituency.
Congress heavyweight and former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria has been fielded by his party in Ratlam (ST) LS constituency which is going to polls along with seven other LS seats in the fourth phase polling in the state.
He is pitted against BJP candidate Anita Nagar Singh in the multi-cornered contest in the constituency.
All the eight LS seats going to polls in the fourth phase polling on May 13 are in Nimar-Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh.
In the first three phases of LS polls in Madhya Pradesh, 21 seats had gone to polls.
