On 8th November, an independent candidate from Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, Arun Tiwari, held a press conference and accused Congress of selling tickets in exchange for cash for the upcoming Assembly Elections. During the press conference, Tiwari presented an audio recording alleging it was a telephonic conversation with Mayor Ramsharan Yadav. The state Congress committee has issued a notice to Yadav seeking an explanation for the accusations.
Tiwari has alleged that the Congress ticket for the Assembly elections was sold for Rs 4 crores. The allegations caused turmoil in the political arena of the poll-bound state. Replying to the allegations, Yadav claimed he has a good relationship with Tiwari and dismissed the allegations as baseless.
In a letter to Yadav seeking an explanation, Congress party’s organisational in-charge, Mahamandaleshwar Malkit Singh Gaidu, said the audio clip discussing the ticket distribution has gone viral on social media. The content of the conversation raised concerns of indiscipline that led to instructions by PCC chief Deepak Baij to issue a notice. Yadav has been asked to respond to the notice within 24 hours.
Tiwari is a former MLA and former Congress leader of Chhattisgarh. He accused a prominent female leader, Kumari Selja, of the Congress party of accepting money in the ticket distribution. The money exchange occurred in Rohtak, and the person who gave the money circulated the audio clip himself. It was alleged that money was paid to her via her father.
While Yadav deemed Tiwari’s actions as fearmongering, Tiwari challenged him to respond within the legal framework if he felt defamed. Tiwari further claimed that money is often exchanged for a ticket in the Congress party.
In the conversation shared by Tiwari, he talked to Yadav, which lasted around 20 minutes. The conversation started with the information exchange on money paid through Hawala that amounted to Rs 4 crores. In the discussion, they talked about political deals, the distribution of tickets and the influence of external leaders in state politics. They also discussed survey results and allocation of resources in different regions, along with the challenges faced by the party.
Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2023
The first phase of Assembly Elections 2023 in Chhattisgarh was done on 7th November. The second phase is scheduled for 17th November. The results will be announced on 3rd December. Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh is making headlines for different scams. Recently, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel’s name came up in the Mahadev Betting App scam. The owner of the app alleged he paid over Rs 500 crores to CM Baghel. Earlier, his name mushroomed in the liquor scam that was worth multi-thousand crores.
