The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024, scheduled for May 13, will witness polling in one of the most talked about seats of Madhya Pradesh. Indore, where Congress has been away from victory since 1989, is going to be an interesting contest after the grand old party’s candidate withdrew his nomination and joined the rival BJP. Hurt by losing the seat even before the election, Congress has adopted a different game plan; they are asking voters to press the NOTA button to teach the BJP a lesson.
NOTA, or None of the above options, was added as an alternative choice for the Indian voter in 2013 after the directions of the Supreme Court. The mechanism is established to record voters’ disapproval with all the candidates standing in the fray.
Akshay Kanti Bam earned the Congress’ ticket to fight elections for the Indore Lok Sabha seat, but he withdrew his nomination after being summoned by police in some old cases. Later, Akshay Kanti Bam joined the BJP in the presence of senior leaders and Madhya Pradesh cabinet ministers. The developments made the elections easy for BJP candidate and sitting MP Shankar Lalwani.
‘Murder of democracy’
Congress reacted to the development with sharp attacks on the BJP and filed a petition in the high court seeking permission to field a substitute candidate.
After the high court rejected the plea, Congress didn’t take much time to come up with an alternative strategy and started asking voters to press the NOTA button and punish the BJP for “murdering the democracy.”
“Voters of Indore had delivered a huge victory to the BJP in the last municipal and assembly elections. Despite this, the BJP murdered democracy by unfairly luring Mr Bam. Voters must give a befitting reply to BJP by picking the NOTA option,” senior Congress leader Shobha Ojha was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“I appeal to the people of Indore… Our Congress candidate has been stolen by some people who have deprived you of your right to vote. If you want to teach them a lesson, press the NOTA button and save democracy,” Congress leader Sajjan Verma said in a post on X.
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Published: 11 May 2024, 08:19 PM IST