With her resignation yet to be accepted, Nisha Bangre started a 335-km ‘Justice March’ from Betul district which recently reached Bhopal. (News18)
Deputy Collector Nisha Bangre’s resignation, tendered in June-end, hasn’t been accepted yet. Her plea is pending in court. With October 30 as the last date of nomination for Madhya Pradesh elections, time is running out for both Bangre and the Congress, which wants to field her from Amla
With its second list of 85 names on Thursday night, the Congress has declared its candidate list for all seats in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly, except one – Amla. As reported by News18 previously, Deputy Collector Nisha Bangre is speculated to be its contender for elections in Amla constituency.
Bangre’s resignation hasn’t been accepted yet and, to protest the delay, she started a ‘Justice March’ from Betul district to Bhopal. With Congress leaders backing her legacy and the party seemingly keeping her preferred seat aside, it is almost certain the grand old party will field her from Amla once the courts rule on her plea against the delay in her resignation formalities.
A crucial indication of this is Congress leader Vivek Tankha representing her in the Supreme Court when she approached the top court a special leave petition to get her resignation cleared. A photo of Bangre, Tankha and former Congress leader Kapil Sibal has also surfaced in the public domain.
Though the Supreme Court rejected Bangre’s special leave petition, the bureaucrat claims the apex court has directed the concerned High Court to decide on the plea urgently.
Time is of the essence for both Bangre and Congress. The nomination process for Madhya Pradesh election 2023 starts October 21. The last date of nomination is October 30.
THE SAGA SO FAR
Bangre reportedly decided to resign as Deputy Collector when she was denied permission to hold an inter-faith prayer meeting at her newly constructed residence. “It’s an issue of our rights. We are stopped from holding prayers according to our faith. We don’t have the freedom to live,” Bangre had alleged.
BJP insiders, however, claim the bureaucrat has always nurtured political ambitions and wanted to use the meeting to launch her campaign. “She wants to fight elections from Amla. That’s why she is resorting to these theatrics,” said a BJP functionary from Madhya Pradesh, adding that party leaders have been advised to not comment on her. “This will get her undue publicity,” the functionary added.
The BJP has fielded Dr Yogesh Pandagre from the Amla constituency.
With her resignation, which was tendered June-end, yet to be accepted, Bangre started a 335-km ‘Justice March’ from Betul district which recently reached Bhopal. In politically charged Madhya Pradesh, the bureaucrat seems to be giving many seasoned politicians a run for their money, spending nights under the open sky during her march.
On October 9, her ‘yatra’ reached Bhopal, where her goal was to meet Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. With no permission for the march, she and her supporters were arrested under Section 151. Bangre was sent to jail where she started a hunger strike and was later released. “We need to uproot such a government,” she declared upon release.
Bangre has so far milked every twist in the saga to her benefit. Upon release from jail, she came out wearing several garlands made of marigold flowers. She also alleged the police tore her clothes during the arrest. “We have witnessed police atrocity where not only my clothes were torn, but a photo of Baba Saheb (Ambedkar) was also broken…We need to uproot such a government,” she had said
The big question now is – how long will the Congress wait before declaring a candidate for Amla?