By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal : With the fate of presidential candidates for the next President of India sealed in ballot boxes both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), and the main Opposition Congress party in Madhya Pradesh have made claims and counter claims saying their candidate bagged more votes from 14 legislators belonging to other parties and independents.
As many as 226 legislators voted in the presidential election with two MLAs abstaining from voting while two seat are vacant in a house of 230 in Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly. They included 169 from BJP, 40 from Congress, five of Samajwadi Party (SP), three from Gondwana Gantantra Party, (GGP), two each from Bahujan Samaj Party, (BSP), and Rashtriya Samanata Dal, (RSD), and one each from CPM, JD (U) and NCP. There are two independent legislators.
The major breakthrough the parties consider is polling by five Samajwadi Party MLAs who voted in the election defying the guidelines of the party. As it was a secret ballot, no action could be taken against them, but both the parties claim that they received votes from SP MLAs.
Only two legislators from the Samajwadi Party (SP), Dr. Sunilam and Narayan Tripathi remained absent. Dr. Sunilam did not turn up for both the reasons – as he was sick and the party high command being a part of the third front had declined to vote in the presidential election. But Tripathi did not turn up despite having assured Madhya Pradesh Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra who was appointed returning officer of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
Congress sources claimed that some of the MLAs from the SP and ruling BJP had under the leadership of ex-MLA and relative of UPA candidate Pratibha Patil – Virendra Singh Raghuwansi and State Congress spokesman Brijmohan Shrivastava, met Pratibha in New Delhi a few days ago and assured to vote in her favour.
Congress insiders claimed that few BJP legislators also voted by crossing the floor, but the BJP was able to manage it by receiving votes from three SP and one GGP MLA. Senior party leaders Suresh Pachouri and Arjun Singh managed to get votes of SP MLAs Arjun Palia and KK Singh respectively.
State BJP spokesman Uma Shankar Gupta said that the party had contacted some of the 14 MLAs and it is expected that some of them voted for Shekhawat, but it would be clear only after results are out tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the State president of the GGP was sacked on the charge of taking an anti-party stand during the presidential election.
GGP state president Gulzar Singh Markam was sacked just a few days before the presidential election, on the charge of delivering a statement that party MLAs would vote for the UPA candidate, without consulting the national leadership. GGP national president Hira Singh Markam has appointed RS Kumhare as the new State president of the party.