BJP names women panel ex-member as Tikamgarh president

Bhopal: After much deliberation, the BJP state unit on Saturday announced the name of just one more district president. The party's Tikamgarh district unit has got a woman president. Both Union minister for social justice Virendra Kumar Khatik and BJP MLA from Jatara assembly segment Hari Shankar Khatik agreed to the appointment of Saroj Rajput as the party's district president for Tikamgarh. So far, the party has nominated seven women district presidents including Vandana Khandelwal for Neemuch, Rani Patel Kushwaha for Sagar, Preity Shukla for Narmadapuram, Meena Bisen for Seoni, Nanda Brahmana for Khargone, Anita Chapra for Shahdol and now Saroj Rajput for Tikamgarh. Tikamgarh is the 57th BJP organisational district to get its president. Internal dispute within the party continues over the appointment of district BJP chiefs in Indore (city), Indore (rural), Narsinghpur, Niwari and Chhindwara. Unlike the other women district presidents elected, Rajput is a former member of the State Women's Commission. Her husband Lakhan Rajput was known to be a close aide of former chief minister Uma Bharti. It was during Bharti's tenure that Saroj Rajput was appointed to the state women's commission. Sources in the party, however, explained that it wasn't Uma Bharti who lobbied for her elevation to the district president's office. Rather, it was the disagreement of both Virendra Khatik and Hari Shankar Khatik to permit another scheduled caste (SC) person to take charge of the district party office that made Saroj Rajput lucky. The party named a worker from the SC community as the next district president. Virendra Khatik is MP from SC reserved Tikamgarh Lok Sabha constituency while Hari Shankar Khatik is the MLA from SC reserved Jatara constituency. They are both leaders from the SC community but did not agree to have a third person from the community to take charge of the BJP district office. Sources in the party explained that both Virendra and Hari Shankar saw their own political future in jeopardy with a third SC leader emerging in Tikamgarh.