Contentious list of candidates

Both Congress and BJP have finalised the lists of candidates for the 29 seats of Lok Sabha. After the final list, BJP is facing rebellion in at least four constituencies. The four constituencies are Khajuraho, Balaghat, Shadol, and Indore.

It was a tough job to select party candidate for Indore which is being represented by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan from 1989. Despite many attempts by party stalwarts like Kailash Vijayvargiya earlier she could not be dislodged. She gained tremendous influence in the party and was awarded the top job of the speaker. The party was trying to find her replacement. After marathon consultations, the party selected Shankar Lalwani for the Indore seat.

He is not a very popular well-known face in Indore. Despite this he was chosen. His choice came as a surprise to many BJP members. His choice has also been opposed by another Sindhi leader.

BJP's choice for Balaghat resulted in a major revolt. The party chose new candidate by dropping the sitting MP Bodh Singh Bhagat. Bhagat publicly opposed denial of ticket to him. Ultimately BJP expelled him from the party. Gyan Singh, sitting MP from Shahdol was also replaced. Surprisingly he was replaced by a leader who contested by election against Gyan Singh as a Congress candidate.

Former Vidyarthi Parishad activist V.D. Sharma was imposed on Khajuraho constituency. Local BJP workers are angry because Sharma was selected despite the fact that he was a rank outsider.

Meanwhile, Bhopal constituency has attracted entire nation's attention. Pragya Thakur was made party member a few hours before the announcement of her name as the party candidate. She filed her nomination on Monday. Before filling her nomination she was vehemently criticised for making highly objectionable remarks against Hemant Karkare, Maharashtra cadre IPS officer who was killed by a terrorist. Pragya claimed that he was killed because she cursed him.

After her remarks she was served a notice by the Election Commission asking her to explain her conduct. She did submit her explanation which was not found to be satisfactory. Her remark was criticised by the IPS association and several retired Director Generals of Police. Controversy over Karkare had not yet subsided she made yet another highly provocative comment. Her comment was so serious and objectionable that an FIR was registered on Monday against her. Her comment was "I climbed atop the structure in Ayodhya and am proud to have demolished it".

Bhopal district election officer Sudama Khade said, "The reply filed by Pragya Singh Thakur regarding her remarks about the Ayodhya structure was not found satisfactory. An FIR has been registered against her under Section 188 IPC for poll code violation". Conviction on this charge can lead to six months in jail or a fine or both. After the back-to-back EC notices, Pragya was advised by her party leaders on Sunday to exercise restraint and not speak on sensitive issues.

Sources said that in her reply on the Babri remark, Pragya said that she made the statement when she was "not yet a candidate". In her reply, she asks: "Whether the (EC) media certification and media monitoring committee is authorised to take cognisance of the statements given by me when I had not filed my nomination. And it should also be apprised that I have not given any statement with the intention of hurting the feelings or instigating rift between people belonging to any caste, religion or community but it expresses the voice of my conscience. Hence I request you to dispose the notice at this level only". Clearly the district election officer wasn't convinced.

Pragya's reply to the other EC notice – on her 'death curse' remark has been sent to chief electoral officer V L Kantha Rao. She blamed the media for "negatively" presenting her statement. This will be forwarded to the EC office in Delhi. Pragya's reply on the "karkare curse' says "I have spoken nothing wrong that could flare communal tension. I did not take any name, nor did I attack anybody on personal issues or raised slogans against anybody. But, the notice served by EC demanded explanation. I would request the EC to append sensitive pamphlets, if any, or any complaint by a political worker against me, with the notice".

She insists she hasn't said "anything derogatory regarding the martyrdom of any martyr" and urges the EC not to judge her statement "on the basis of one single line". "The entire statement should be considered for evaluation, I have only narrated the torture that I faced on the instructions of the then Congress government and it is my right to inform people what I had suffered. My statement was reported negatively by media and I also withdrew my statement in respect of public sentiments, hence no action should be taken against me" Pragya said.

There is a section of observers who feel that her claim regarding Babri Mosque is false. There are some documents in which 1988 is mentioned as her birth year. If that is so she must have been only four year old in 1992 – the year in which Babri Mosque was demolished.

(The views expressed are strictly personal)