BHOPAL: Three young tribal doctors could soon be out to spoil the prospects of ruling Congress and opposition BJP in the Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh.
The three medicos, including gynaecologist Dr Raksha Bamania Mujalde (Khargone-Barwani seat), general physician Dr Abhay Ohri (Ratlam-Jhabua seat) and orthopaedic Dr Rupesh Padmakar (Betul seat) are tipped to be the candidates of tribal outfit Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS) on four schedule tribes reserved Lok Sabha seats.
The JAYS is an outfit founded by a group of young tribals led by former-AIIMS-New Delhi doctor Dr Hiralal Alawa, who had won the 2018 assembly polls on Congress ticket from Manawar seat of Dhar district, defeating powerful BJP politician and ex-MP minister Ranjana Baghel.
According to Chandrabhan Singh Bhadauria, a senior political analyst from tribal-dominated Jhabua district, “by flocking behind the Congress in the 2018 assembly polls, the JAYS had ensured the Congress’ win on eight to ten seats in Dhar, Ratlam, Barwani, Khargone, Jhabua and Alirajpur districts. Such seats which were won by Congress owing to strong backing by JAYS, included BJP stronghold Petlawad in Jhabua district, besides Thandla, Alirajpur and Jobat in Jhabua and Alirajpur district and Sailana in Ratlam district.”
However, with JAYS founder and first time MLA Dr Hiralal Alawa not being inducted into the Kamal Nath government and the Congress also paying deaf ear to JAYS’ sustained demand for leaving Betul, Ratlam-Jhabua, Dhar and Khargone (four out of the six seats reserved for tribal candidates) for JAYS candidates, the JAYS has now decided to field its own candidates either as independents or even under the banner of some regional party.
“Our screening committee will decide the final candidates on April 21. These candidates will be fielded from the four tribal dominated seats to win and not cut into anyone’s votes,” JAYS state chief Antim Mujalda told The New Indian Express on Tuesday.
Among the three medicos, who are possible candidates of JAYS from Khargone, Ratlam and Betul seats, gynaecologist Dr Raksha Bamnia Mujalde was among the Congress probable from Khargone seat, but the Congress decided to field radiologist Dr Govind Mujalde, who is believed to be close to home minister Bala Bachchan.
With JAYS now set to field candidates on its own, even the breakaway faction of the outfit led by leaders like Vikram Achchaliya is said to be considering backing the candidates fielded from the four seats. Besides, a-JAYS leader on terms of anonymity said that close aides of three-times former Congress MP from Dhar seat Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi (who has been denied ticket by Congress from Dhar seat) too are in talks with JAYS leadership.
All four seats, which the JAYS is set to contest in West and Central MP, were won by BJP in 2014 polls, but the Congress wrested one of them, the Ratlam-Jhabua seat in the 2015 by-election.