The BJP’s fourth list for Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, which retained most of its senior sitting legislatures, including veteran politician and Assembly Speaker Girish Gautam, made it clear that the next generation of the saffron party aspiring to pursue their career in politics will have to wait.
The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly will go to the polls on November 17, while the counting of votes will be taken up on December 3,
The BJP’s election screening committee on Monday announced the names of 57 candidates, of which 24 are state ministers and the remaining 32 are those who won the Assembly elections in 2018 or the bypolls in 2021.
Importantly, around a dozen senior BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh wanted to field their children in the elections, but the saffron party, which is known to corner other political parties over the politics of ‘dynasticism’, refrained from fielding the children of its active leaders.
Until the fourth list was released on Monday, the political gallery was filled with murmurs that CM Chouhan’s elder son Kartikey Chouhan may be fielded.
Kartikey, who recently completed his LLM from an US-based university, would often be seen active in his father’s constituency -- Budhni in Sehore district.
Home Minister Narottam Mishra’s son Sukarn Mishra has been managing the poll strategy from behind the curtains. Sources said that Sukarn also held meetings with the people in his father’s home district Datia.
BJP national General Secretary Kailash Vijayavargiya's son Akash Vijayvargiya is an MLA from Indore-3. However, he has not been given ticket this time.
Annoyed with the party’s decision to field senior Vijayavargiya instead of his son Akash, a large group of his supporters had staged a protest at the party headquarters in Bhopal recently.
Senior BJP leader and Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar's son Devender Pratap Singh has been active in the party’s district level activities in Morena.
Being the election convener, Tomar has to give time for formulating poll strategies for the party, while his son, Devender Pratap Singh, is preparing the ground for his father in Dhimini.
PWD Minister Gopal Bhargav's son Abhishek Bhargava, Agriculture Minister Kamel Patel's son Sandeep Patel and Transport Minister Govind Singh Rajput's son Akash Rajput along with Water Minister Tulsi Silawat's son Nitish Silwar and former MP Prabhat Jha's son Tushmul Jha are all standing on the threshold of politics.
The other senior BJP leaders whose sons or daughters are waiting to enter politics include Santosh Sahu’s daughter Parul Sahu, ex-minister Manvendra Singh’s son Kamkshya Singh, Gaurishankar Bisen’s daughter Mausam Bisen, and Umashankar Sharma’s daughter Jyoti Sharma, among others.
Most of them had earlier secured organisational posts in the party or are active in managing poll strategies for their fathers from the backend.
Abhishek Bhargav held various posts in the organisation but his work was limited to his father's Assembly area. He remains in constant touch with the public.
Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel's son Sandeep Patel focuses on sports activities more than politics. He had recently organised a sports festival, while Tushmul Jha is active in social activities, more than politics.
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