Murder charge, folk shows spice up final round

Murder charge, folk shows spice up final round
AMBRISH KUMAR

RAIPUR, FEB 15: With just two more days remaining before electioneering comes to a halt on the evening of February 17 -- 48 hours ahead of the Marwahi bypoll scheduled on February 19 -- the BJP is going in for the kill with more than half a dozen senior leaders, including Ramesh Bais, Dr. Raman Singh, Lakhi Ram Agrwal, Faggon Singh Kulaste, Maya Singh and Dilip Singh Judeo, and 24 MLAs campaigning overtime.

In a last minute twist to the bypoll drama, BJP candidate Amar Singh Khushro has charged that Cheif Minister Ajit Jogi had threatened to kill him. In a letter faxed to the Election Commmission, Khushro charged that Jogi offered him Rs. 10 lac for retiring from the contest, BJP spokesman Subhash Rao told The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, the entry of BJP Rajya Sabha member Dilip Singh Judeo in the campaign trail had made the going tough for Cheif Minister Ajit Jogi. Dilip Singh Judeo, who belongs to the Jashpur Royal Family, gave a tough fightto the then Cheif Minister Arjun Singh in Kharasia Assembley election in the late eighties.

``Ajit Jogi was made Cheif Minister to promote Christianity in Chhattisgarh. It is a foreign conspiracy and we will teach a lesson to Jogi in the election,'' Judeo told The Indian Express.

Earlier, the resignation of party MLA Ram Dayal Uikey demoralised the BJP rank and file. ``Now at least we can give a tough fight to Cheif Minister Ajit Jogi,'' Budhram, a BJP worker of Pendra told The Indian Express.

While a galaxy of prominent leaders of state BJP have been campaigning for party candidate Amar Singh Khushro, the party has not really penetrated in the villages of Marwahi. The Congress, in contrast, have directed their campaigning towards these villages. The party is making full use of folkartistes, including Pandwani singer Teejan Bai and Ritu Verma, to mobilise support for the tribal chief minister. Posters and banners seeking vote for Jogi are visible in almost every village.

According to party sources, about half a dozen Congress ministers have been camping in Marwahi to take the BJP bandwagon, while many teams of party workers are on their way to Marwahi to take part in the final round of campaigning.