Raigarh: Politics is full of surprises, and the urban body elections in Chhattisgarh proved just that. Jivardhan Chauhan, who runs a small tea stall in Raigarh municipal corporation, hit the jackpot when he came out victorious in the mayoral elections, the results of which were announced on Saturday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surprised everyone by giving a ticket to Chauhan. Congress also assumed that he would be an easy opponent. But when the results were out, it was the latter that was up for a shock. Not only the Congress, many were left stunned by the results. Owing to his strong grassroots appeal and development promises made by BJP, Chauhan defeated Congress candidate Janaki Katju by a huge margin of 34,000 votes.
Addressing a press conference in Raipur earlier today, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said, "We have given a chance to a common man. That is how the party functions."
In fact, the chief minister himself had visited Chauhan's tea stall, made tea and served it to the people during the election campaigning. Along with the tea shop, Chauhan will now take charge of the city as well. Praising Chauhan's efforts, the CM also lauded the party's efforts in giving chance to dedicated workers.
Notably, this is not the first time that the voters of Raigarh have thrown a surprise. Before this, they had elected a transgender Madhu Bai, an independent candidate who was up against a strong BJP candidate. Madhu Bai had defeated BJP's Mahavir Guruji by around 4500 votes to become the mayor of Raigarh in 2014.
For India, a tea-seller (chaiwala) entering the foray of politics is nothing new. But moving ahead, with the voters giving a chance to a new face Jivardhan Chauhan over heavyweights, he has one big responsibility now - to fulfill the promises made to the people.
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