Form of words:
New Delhi: Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti has set a January deadline for the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government to implement complete prohibition in the state, trying to find her way into state politics. The BJP leader has threatened to launch an agitation if the demand is not met.
Speaking to reporters last week, she said women can takestick(lathi) to enforce prohibition if the MP government fails.
This is not the first time that Bharti has threatened an agitation to bring the Shivraj government on the back foot on the issue of prohibition.
On Sunday, Bharti tweeted that her campaign for prohibition, which was announced on International Women’s Day (March 8) this year, could not start due to COVID, but if all goes well, the public awareness campaign is now Will last for five months.
“Meanwhile, my Ganga Yatra will be completed. After that I will review the situation between January 15 and 20, 2022. I am sure that the MP government will take a decision on prohibition of liquor in the state. Otherwise women will take to the streets for prohibition of liquor. I will join them,” she said.
There will also be an improvement in the period between 15 to 20 years, by 2022 the situation of cessation of alcohol will improve. I will be
— uma bharti (@umasribharti) September 19, 2021
BJP leaders told ThePrint that while the call for prohibition is good for the society, for Bharti the threat of agitation is the only way for her to find a way out of her own political exile.
However, BJP state president BD Sharma said that the state government would seriously consider Bharti’s demands. “She is our respected leader,” Sharma said.
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How did the matter unfold
At least 20 people in January this year Died After drinking illicit liquor in Morena district.
Soon after, Uma Bharti, struggling to find a window to enter state politics, wrote a letter to BJP president JP Nadda, Want Liquor ban in all party ruled states. He cited the example of Gujarat and Bihar, where women voted in favor of Nitish Kumar because of prohibition.
It announced an agitation on March 8 but did not launch it, later citing a second Covid wave as the reason. However, sources said that he could not find any takers for his agitation call and his advisors told him that was not the time to launch the agitation.
BJP sources said she was hopeful for the Rajya Sabha seat, which fell vacant after Thawar Chand Gehlot resigned In July, however, the BJP high command decided to give the seat to L Murugan, who had been inducted as a minister of state in the central government two months earlier.
Besides, giving him a Rajya Sabha seat was not an option as he is a mass leader, sources said.
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Why now?
In February 2018, Uma Bharti announced That she was taking a break from electoral politics for three years. With the end of her sabbatical in 2022, she is looking for a launchpad to get back into state politics.
As a women’s leader, she knows that prohibition can resonate with women. That’s why he has given the January deadline to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
But she is also sending a signal to the BJP high command to give him a respectable position. Otherwise, she may hamper the smooth functioning of the state government ahead of the 2023 assembly elections.
“She has announced that she would like to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There will be a call from the high command to give him a ticket,” a senior BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh told ThePrint.
“Last time, she won from Jhansi (in Uttar Pradesh). This may be an option for him but (CM) Yogi will hesitate to field him from Jhansi for fear of creating another power centre. She wants to contest elections from Madhya Pradesh which Shivraj will not like in any way.
The leader said that since the 2023 elections will be crucial for the BJP to retain Madhya Pradesh, he has given the January deadline “keeping in mind the timing of the elections”.
However, a BJP state leader pointed out that “a lot has changed” in Madhya Pradesh politics since 2018.
“Jyotiraditya Scindia is the new power center now and Shivraj Singh Chouhan has created a good chemistry with Scindia to keep the other contenders away. Even Amit Shah’s partner Kailash Vijayvargiya and Narottam Mishra did not get the chair (at the time of CM selection) because of Shivraj-Scindia chemistry.
“Uma does not have such good chemistry with Amit Shah in Delhi, and it is highly unlikely that she will find a place in state politics,” he said.
Leaders close to Bharti said, ‘Uma has another card on her chest. She can play the backward caste card and demand a caste census in the state, but it all depends on how the BJP high command takes up her case next year.
Last week, Bharti met An OBC delegation, which demanded a caste-based census and quota in private jobs.
(Edited by Amit Upadhyay)
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