In a major political development on Thursday night, Congress has fielded former Union minister and former Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Arun Yadav against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at Budhni constituency in Sehore district.
Talking about the issues against Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Arun Yadav opined that “Budhni is the headquarters of sand mining in the state. In the CMs home district, the maximum farmer suicides have taken place in the state.”
Budhni constituency is mainly comprised of farmers and most people hails from either a rural agrarian or OBC background.
Arun Yadav, who is the son of former Deputy Chief Minister Subhash Yadav, is recognised as the significant farmer leader in Madhya Pradesh, which makes Arun Yadav a suitable alternative of Shivraj Singh Chouhan at Budhni.
Conversely, after 2017 Mandsaur farmers’ killing incident, there is resentment against Shivraj Singh Chouhan among the agrarian community of Madhya Pradesh.
Arun Yadav belongs to Yadav community and Shivraj is from Kirar community. The share of votes of Yadavs is about twice that of Kirar community in Budhni.
Speaking on the lines of contesting from Budhni Arun Yadav stated on Friday morning “We (Congress) will fight it out in Budhni and I will definitely win. My party has given me a direction to fight from Budhni and I am privileged and proud that a small worker like me has been chosen by Rahul Gandhi to fight from Budhni against the Chief Minister”.
Arun Yadav has served as Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief from January 2014 to August 2018 and played a crucial role in strengthening the party at the grassroots level. As a fact, soon after Lok Sabha election 2014, Arun Yadav was highly vocal against Shivraj Singh Chouhan over Vyapam issue, which further dented BJP in several by-polls of the state.
Budhni is considered as Chouhan’s home turf and was first elected as MLA in 1990. During the recently concluded RSS survey, a report suggested that Shivraj Singh Chouhan must change his constituency, however, Shivraj ignored the survey and decided to contest election from Budhni. Congress, who is totally aware of RSS survey and decided to field Arun Yadav from Budhni.
The polling in the state will take place on November 28 and the results will be declared on December 11.
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