Bhopal: When BJP announced Sandhya Rai as its candidate from Bhind, she thought that there are only two major challenges before her — to win the confidence of the local party leadership and second to become the first woman MP after Vijay Raje Scindia from the constituency, spread over Bhind and Datia districts.But soon, she found that the road to Lok Sabha is not as smooth as she thought. Now, Sandhya, a member of state women’s commission, is being termed as “an outsider candidate” by her own party leaders in Bhind. Though Congress is yet to announce its candidate from Bhind, Sandhya is already facing a daunting task of retaining the seat which has been a party bastion for the past 34 years.Out of 8 assembly segments in Bhind, five have Congress MLAs, 2 belong to BJP while one has been won by Samajwadi Party candidate with the support of the Congress.To add to Sandhya’s woes is the strong rivalry between two Thakur leaders — Narendra Singh Tomar, the party candidate from Morena, and Arvind Bhadoria, party MLA from Ater, party sources claimed. The fear is that if one supports her, the other will try to play spoilsport. However, Bhadoria putting an end to all speculations said, “In fact, I had recommended her name in consultation with other party leaders. Hence, there is no reason to dump her.”But Sandhya supporters are not convinced with Bhadoria’s statement. “Sandhya is getting support of only one BJP leader —Narottam Mishra of Datia. Arvind Bhadoria is unlikely to support her”, they said.Despite the odds, Sandhya is confident of sailing through in Bhind. Talking to TOI, she said, “ I am going to win the election as there is hardly any challenge before me. I have blessings of village elders and I am getting cooperation of all party leaders.”Sandhya Rai belongs to Dimni village of Morena and was recommended by Narendra Singh Tomar allegedly to checkmate his rival Ashok Argal, former MP from Bhind. Sources said that Tomar, who has managed to shift to Morena, is keen to continue his grip over the BJP politics in Gwalior and Chambal region and this is the reason why he has decided to pitch in for Sandhya.

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