Vyapam whistleblower feels dejected after Rahul Gandhi denied election ticket

Anand Rai, the whistle-blower in the Vyapam exam scam is not on the list of Congress candidates who will fight the Madhya Pradesh assembly election on November 28, this year.

It was Anand Rai who had filed a petition to high court alleging that candidates bribed government officials to make it to the list of those who cleared the test, without taking the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board or Vyapam.
Mr Rai said, “I have not been given a ticket to fight elections even though Rahul Gandhi had assured me of it. It was only because of me that the Congress’s Sanjeev Saxena (another Vyapam accused) was not given a ticket.”

Back in 2005, Mr Rai got suspicious when he himself took his exams and found it strange that many who qualified were all from the same hostel block. After much investigation and also after filing repeated complaints and receiving no response, finally he went to court in July 2013.

“I am innocent and the truth will come out. For now, I will work towards strengthening the Congress. For once, I felt that I have been betrayed but now I feel that I should walk behind those with bigger issues,” Mr Rai said.

According to the final list of candidates announced by the Congress on Thrusday, senior Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders, including state unit president Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijaya Singh will not be contesting the elections.

As per the fourth list released on Wednesday, the Congress named 29 candidates including Sanjay Singh Masani, brother-in-law of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been in power in Madhya Pradesh for the past 15 years, had won the 2013 elections with a big majority. In the meantime, the Congress is hoping that the Vyapam scam and the Mandsaur agitation would would act as a spoiler in BJP’s chances to win the election this time.

Also read: Chhatisgarh Assembly Elections: Modi and Gandhi to address rallies today