Bhopal, Oct 22 The election in Devtalab Assembly constituency in Vindhya region of Madhya Pradesh will be more interesting because it will be a close fight between ‘chacha’ and ‘bhateeja’.
The ‘chacha (uncle)’ four-time MLA and the state Assembly Speaker, Girish Gautam is a seasoned politician of the ruling party, while the ‘bhateeja (nephew)’ Padmesh Gautam is making his debut in the Assembly election on a Congress ticket.
Girish Gautam made his political debut with the Communist Party of India (CPI) from the Gurgh Assembly seat, however, he won the first election against the then Vidhan Sabha Speaker Sriniwas Tiwari from the Mangawan seat in 2003 on a BJP ticket.
Later, in 2008, the Mangawan seat was reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) in 2008 and Girish shifted to the Devtalab seat and won three-consecutive elections in 2008, 2013 and 2018.
In 2020, when the Kamal Nath-led Congress government fell and the BJP was back into power, Girish was made the Vidhan Sabha Speaker. Now, Girish Gautam will be facing a tough fight from his nephew, and the situation is to some extent similar to the one 20 years ago. In 2003, the Congress was facing a major anti-incumbency factor against Digvijay Singh’s government but he managed to defeat the most powerful Brahmin leader of his time in the Vindhya region – Sriniwas Tiwari.
Now, 20 years later, the BJP is also facing a high-incumbency factor against the almost 20-year rule (for15 months there was a Kamal Nath-led government in the state) of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Padmesh Gautam would miss no opportunity to turn the situation in his favour.
If asked why the Congress fielded Padmesh Gautam against his uncle, despite the fact that some other senior leaders were strong contenders for the seat, the party can say with confidence that he proved his potential leadership even before contesting the Assembly elections. For instance, in the Zila Panchayat polls held last year, Padmesh Gautam defeated Girish Gautam’s son Rahul Gautam.
“The people of Devtalab are angry with their sitting MLA Girish Gautam because no development has taken place in the last 15 years. Devtalab remained what it was 20 years ago. Building one or two roads is not development. I have been associated with the Congress since 2014 and have worked for the people despite having no official post. Not just in Devtalab, but in the entire Madhya Pradesh, people want to change the government,” Padmesh Gautam told IANS.
The caste equation and the margin of Girish Gautam’s three consecutive victories from Devtalab suggests that the electoral fight between the uncle and nephew will not only be close but heated also, as seen during the Zila Panchayat elections.
Girish Gautam won the last election against the BSP’s Seema Jaiveer Singh with a margin of 1,080 votes, while the Congress’ Vidyavati Patel was at third position. Gautam had secured a total 45,043 votes (33.23per cent), the BSP got 43,963 (32.43 per cent) votes, while the Congress could secure 30,393 (22.41 per cent) votes.
While, in 2013, Gautam had won the election against the BSP’s Vidhyavati Patel with a margin of 3,885 votes, the Congress was at third position with 20 per cent votes. Now, in 2023, Seema Singh and her husband have already shifted to the Congress and they played a crucial role in Padmesh’s victory in the Zila Panchayat election last year.
On the other hand, apart from the high anti-incumbency factor against his government, Girish is also facing resentment from local people because of his son Rahul Gautam’s behaviour.
