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After flurry of political activities, Congress party had decided to finally field Sharma against Bais. The announcement came past midnight that had elated the Sharma camp
Finally, former Chhattisgarh minister and senior Congress leader Satyanarayan Sharma will be party’s official candidate from the Raipur Lok Sabha constituency.
After nearly a month of exercise and changing the candidate three times, All India Congress Committee (AICC) has decided to pit Sharma against former union minister Ramesh Bais. The latter has been representing the seat for the last five terms.
When the first list of candidates was announced, Congress party fielded Chaya Verma as its official candidate to contest from Raipur. A former District Panchayat Chairperson, Chaya was considered as a weak candidate against Bais.
The party changed the candidate and decided to bet on Sharma. Ironically, within two days; Sharma was dropped and Chaya was again given ticket. Sharma’s supporters ransacked the Congress Bhawan in protest against the decision that opened a new war within Chhattisgarh Congress.
While Pradesh Congress Committee chief Bhupesh Baghel clarified that it was only after Sharma’s reluctance to contest the Lok Sabha election, Chaya Verma was again given the ticket. In fact, Sharma denied his unwillingness and said he was never consulted by the state leaders on the issue.
After flurry of political activities, Congress party had decided to finally field Sharma against Bais. The announcement came past midnight that had elated the Sharma camp. “The party high command had expressed confidence and I would try to match upto the expectation by winning Raipur Lok Sabha constituency,” Sharma said.
Chaya Verma was unavailable for the comment. The unconfirmed reports said that BJP was trying to allure her and ensure quitting Congress in protest and join its fold.
Meanwhile, former union minister Vidyacharan Shukla’s camp had also received a big jolt. His daughter Pratibha was in the race to contest from Raipur. Shukla was one of the victims of Naxal attack in Jheeram Ghati of Bastar and the Congress party had given tickets to the kin of key leaders “as a mark of respect”.
The BJP had taken a dig at Congress for changing its candidate in Raipur. “The Congress is confused to take on BJP and has been changing its candidate time and again,” Chief Minister Raman Singh said.
