Down To The Wire

Even a one per cent swing in vote share can seal the fate of political parties in Madhya Pradesh

- Abhik Bhattacharya

MOHAMMAD Safi, sitting in his courtyard, just opposite one of the oldest mazhars of Sonpur village in Chhindwara district is quite confident about Kamal Nath’s victory. “He will win the elections because of his popularity,” he says. Standing near the chair where the septuagenarian Safi sits throughout the day, observing the political activities across the faliya (colony), Mohammad Nizam, in his 30s, intervenes, “There is hardly a person in this district who didn’t get the support of Kamal Nath ji, when needed. One of my friends staying in a nearby village took his mother to Delhi for treatment. Nath took care of everything.”

Nizam’s friend just had to inform the security guards that they are from Chhindwara and the rest was taken care of by the nine-time MP. Not only his friend, there are many in the district who narrate similar experiences about the Congress leader.

“His popularity gives the Congress the necessary push in the elections. As far as the MLAs are concerned, they are of no use,” says a veteran, who doesn’t want to be named. This village, situated in Amarwara constituency, has been a traditional Congress bastion. While Kamlesh Shah won the seat in 2018, locals call him a jagir or a zamindar. “He neither did any work for us nor did he come even once after the elections. Sometimes, he roams around in his jeep, just like a zamindar,” adds Safi.