- Suspense continues regarding Mineral Development Corporation Chairman in Varasivani Assembly
- Equation of caste votes does not work here
Bhopal: In the high profile seat of the Balaghat district, Varasivani Assembly, there is an independent MLA and MP. There is still doubt among the voters regarding Mineral Development Corporation President Pradeep Jaiswal alias Gudda Bhaiya whether he will contest the upcoming elections as an independent candidate or contest the elections on Congress or BJP ticket. Till now no indication has been received from Jaiswal in this matter nor are his supporters saying anything.
Varasivani Khairlanji assembly seat, bordering Maharashtra, always remains in the headlines. Current MLA Pradeep Jaiswal won the elections of 1998, 2003, 2008 consecutively on Congress ticket, but was defeated by BJP candidate Dr. Yogendra Nirmal in the 2013 elections. This was the first time in two decades that BJP’s account was opened in the electoral history of Varasivani.
Talking about the 2018 assembly elections, instead of Pradeep Jaiswal alias Gudda Bhaiya, Congress gave the ticket to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s brother-in-law Sanjay Masani. Angered by this, Jaiswal rebelled and contested the elections as an independent candidate and won. Congress slipped to fourth place here. When Kamal Nath’s government was formed in the state for 15 months, Pradeep Jaiswal was made the Mineral Minister. After the fall of Kamal Nath government, Pradeep Jaiswal supported Shivraj government and became the chairman of Madhya Pradesh Mineral Commission. Now politics has heated up regarding the upcoming elections whether Pradeep Jaiswal will fight with BJP or Congress or will be seen in the election battle as an independent, about which there is a lot of suspense.
What was the political history of this seat..- In the elections held between 1957 and 2018, Congress has won 7 times, Janata Party 3 times, Janata Dal 2 times, Independents 2 times and BJP 1 time on Varasivani seat. There were 13 candidates in the 2018 assembly elections, in which independent Pradeep Jaiswal was successful in defeating BJP’s Dr. Yogendra Nirmal (34.74 percent) by taking (37.23 percent) votes. BSP’s Ramkumar Nagpure (13.78 percent) and Congress’s Sanjay Singh Masani (7.59 percent) stood fourth.
Caste equations kept failing.. For the last two decades, voters in Varasivani seat have chosen a candidate irrespective of casteism. According to probable data, the largest population in this area is 49 thousand Pawar community. There are 42 thousand voters of other communities including Lodhi 46 thousand, Mahar 20 thousand, tribal 13 thousand, Marar 10 thousand, Gowari and Kalar community 10 thousand each. Pradeep Jaiswal comes from Kalaar Samaj. Voters elected Jaiswal four times in Pawar and Lodhi dominated seats, while in 2013, BJP’s Dr. Yogendra Nirmal, who comes from Jain community, was made their MLA. This shows that whatever community the candidate belongs to, he should be strong.
They are making these claims..
Names of former BJP MLA Dr. Yogendra Nirmal, Niranjan Bisen, etc. are being discussed, while from Congress, former Municipality President Vicky Patel, District Panchayat member Lomaharsh Bisen, former District Panchayat member Ramkumar Nagpure are trying for the ticket. At present, in the discussion on this seat, independent MLA Jaiswal is seen to be superior to Congress and BJP.
Prosperous area yet high unemployment
The area of Varasivani seat is considered socio-economically prosperous. Due to Hindu majority, fairs and cultural events are established in its soil. The people here depend on the cultivation of paddy, wheat, gram and oilseed crops. The main paddy crop in this area is the world famous Chinnaur paddy (Chinnaur rice) which has also been given GI Tag by the government. The agricultural college run under Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, Jabalpur is in Murjhar Farm Varasivani. More than half a hundred rice plants have been found in this area, along with two ethanol plants, there are also half a dozen manganese mines, where people are able to get employment to some extent, yet unemployment is still at its peak in this area.
