Chhattisgarh Elections 2023: Ahead of the assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, supporters of senior state Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former minister Ganesh Ram Bhagat have been staging a protest outside the saffron party's state office in Raipur since Saturday evening, seeking a change in the party's nominee from the Jashpur assembly constituency, as reported by the news agency PTI.
The BJP has fielded Raimuni Bhagat, a woman member of Jashpur Zila Panchayat, from the Jashpur seat (reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates). Jashpur seat is currently held by Congress MLA Vinay Kumar Bhagat. Expressing thier displeasure over her candidature, BJP workers and supporters of Ganesh Ram Bhagat, a former MLA of five terms, reached Raipur in three buses on Saturday and sat on a protest outside the party's state office Kushabhau Thakre Parisar, as reported by PTI.
"We are pained that a senior leader like Ganesh Ram Bhagat is being ignored. He has been at the forefront of the movement in the interest of tribals, against religious conversion and cow slaughter in Jashpur in north Chhattisgarh but Raimuni Bhagat has done nothing," a BJP protester from Jashpur, Rakesh Gupta, told PTI on Sunday at the protest site.
Even the tribal groups like Urao, Nageshiya and Pahadi Korwa have also raised objections to the candidature of Raimuni Bhagat, Gupta claimed. Party workers and locals, including women, from Jashpur have come here on their own expense in support of Ganesh Ram ji and demand to replace Raimuni Bhagat. We will continue our protest outside the party office till we do not get positive assurance from the party leadership, Gupta said.
The protestors, around 200 in number, were seen cooking food and having meals outside the BJP office. They slept at the spot on Saturday night, PTI reported. Senior BJP MLA and former minister Brijmohan Agrawal and the party's state general secretary (organisation) Pawan Sai were seen trying to pacify the protestors but they continued their protest.
When contacted, Ganesh Ram Bhagat said his supporters have been staging the protest on their own and he does not support, as per PTI. However, everyone is free to put forth their demand and party leadership should pay heed to them, he added. Jashpur seat is set to go to polls in the second phase of voting on November 17. The first phase of the poll will be held on November 7 while counting of votes will be done on December 3.