Chhattisgarh elections: BSF jawan quits job to contest polls following villagers' request

Responding to the request of villagers, a BSF jawan left his job and returned home to contest the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections from Sitapur seat. The locals took out a Tricolour rally to welcome him.

Surguja (Chhattisgarh): Villagers have called a soldier from their village, who was posted in Jammu and Kashmir to contest from Sitapur seat in the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. The soldier too left his job and returned home.

It is not yet disclosed from which party he would contest the polls. However, speculations are rife that the soldier's move may put minister and current Congress MLA of Sitapur Amarjeet Bhagat in a tough competition. According to sources, there is a strong resentment against Bhagat among the locals.

Ramkumar Toppo, who worked as a BSF jawan received a warm welcome when he reached Batauli village. Thousands of villagers welcomed him with a Tiranga yatra.

Earlier, Toppo, posted in the Jammu and Kashmir border, received nearly 1000 letters from his village asking him to return home and contest the polls. Among the letters, one was written with blood by a girl from the village. After reading those letters, Toppo could not stop from responding to their call.

"Every word in that letter written by the girl was touching. In such a situation, had a brother not returned then he would not have deserved to be called a soldier," Toppo said.

On Monday, several villagers took out a Tricolour procession from Batauli to Sitapur along with Toppo. Conch shells were blown on the occasion. People of the area said everybody will work hard to ensure that Toppo wins from Sitapur. They said that they want to see Toppo as the winning candidate from Sitapur Assembly constituency to solve the problems of this area.

"We want him to contest the polls. On our appeal, he left his job and returned to the village. Now, it is our duty to support him. One who fights for his country will obviously work for his area," Shikha Sidan, a voter from the Gersa Gram Panchayat said.

Kamal Sai, a voter from the Katrapar Gram Panchayat said, "We have come to join in Toppo's rally in Sitapur. We want him to be the new MLA."

It has not been revealed from which party Toppo will contest. Toppo left the decision to the people of the area. "If the villagers can bring me here, then they can also choose the party for me," Toppo said.