By Sandeep Pauranik

Bhopal, Oct 5 (IANS): The Election Management Committee Convener of the BJPs Madhya Pradesh unit and Urban Administration Minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, Bhupendra Singh, said the by-elections to the Assembly will be a direct contest between 'development' versus 'betrayal'. The BJP's goal is development and stability while the Congress indulges in the politics of betrayal and deception.

In an exclusive interview to IANS, Bhupendra Singh said, "The Congress came to power in the last elections promising to waive farm loans, provide allowance to the unemployed and had also issued a 100-page promissory note, but what happened to those promises is right in front of the common man. This is the reason that former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and his supporters left the Congress which failed to fulfil its promises, hence they joined the BJP."

The by-elections are scheduled on November 3 in 28 Assembly constituencies in the state.

"The people of the state have seen the rule of the Congress for 15 months, the promises it made were forgotten after coming to power. The Congress betrayed the people, on the other hand the BJP works hard for development and is capable of providing a stable government. These are the two issues on which the public will support the BJP," said Bhupendra Singh when asked why voters should vote for the BJP in this election.

The Congress is angered by the BJP's nomination of candidates who had defected from other parties and raises questions about how to trust the party. Asked how can the leaders who defected from other parties be trusted, Bhupendra Singh said, "The leaders who have defected have left the Congress keeping in view the interests of the people and have joined the BJP because the Congress government cheated the people. The Congress government did not fulfil its promises that is why all those leaders left the party. Those leaders were sitting MLAs and ministers who sacrificed their positions for the people. They did not lack in anything but the Congress cheated the people which forced these leaders to give up power."

Singh reiterated that the by-polls are not candidate-based but the BJP is contesting them on the issue of development. They are being fought under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Asked about the political influence of former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Bhupendra Singh said, "The party will benefit from Scindia's entry into the BJP. Scindia is a major political force, a tall state leader and in the past the Congress has contested elections under his leadership. In the Gwalior-Chambal region, the Congress leadership depended heavily on Scindia. His decision to leave the Congress has brought the party to near end."

The BJP and the Congress have their own arguments on the farm loan waiver scheme. The Congress had promised in the last Assembly elections that it will waive farm loans within 10 days of coming to power. If the loans had been waived, the Congress would not have been routed in the state during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The truth is that the Congress has only betrayed the public, added Bhupendra Singh.