Assembly poll tickets survey scam crops up in Madhya Pradesh

With elections for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly scheduled at the end of 2023, and internal surveys for candidate selection being conducted by various political parties, an election ticket survey scam now has been reported from the state.

The perpetrator claims they have been authorised by a particular political party and the ticket will be given only on the basis of their survey reports. They collect detailed information about potential aspirants and then contact them, saying they can help them to get a ticket, and seek to arrange a meeting for detailed discussions.

One such scam was found in Rewa district, where many local party workers say that they have been cheated in this regard. To verify the allegations, this IANS reporter, presenting himself as a ticket aspirant from one of the constituencies in Rewa, called one person conducting the "survey". During the telephonic conversation, the person, who identified himself as Bhaskar Rao Rokde, claimed that he had been appointed by the state Congress committee to conduct an internal survey of Vindhya region.

As the IANS reporter expressed his desire to contest election from the Mauganj constituency, and said that he had that he (Rokde) was conducting a survey for that, Rokde said: "I have not heard your name and we have already selected a candidate from Mauganj, but there still are chances in other constituencies. We can talk about this issue face to face, not on the phone."

Rokde, however, asked about the details and money resources. "Lets meet once then, I would see what I can do for you," he said, adding that he lives in Bhopal.

Asked whether the state Congress has appointed this person in this role, party leader K.K. Mishra denied it, saying the party has already issued a press note regarding the same earlier in November this year.

"This is not the first time that this person is making such a claim and cheating the people. I would request people not to believe about any such fake survey. Candidates would be selected on the supervision of MPCC chief Kamal Nath," Mishra said.

A couple of Congress workers in Rewa district told IANS that Rao has made a large team to gather information about the people aspiring to become politicians and then he would call them for a meeting. "I received around a dozen calls from Rao. He tried to convince me for a meeting, promising that he would help me in getting a ticket for the assembly election," said a Congress worker on condition of anonymity.