Independent Candidate Accuses Former SP of Forcing Him to Withdraw Nomination in 2014 Chhattisgarh By-poll.

Dispatch News.
Raipur. Ahead of the 2023 assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Manturam Pawar, who has announced to contest the elections as an independent candidate from the Antagarh assembly constituency of Kanker district, has created a stir in the political circle by alleging that he had withdrawn his nomination in the 2014 by-poll in the eleventh hour following a threat from the then superintendent of police. He alleged that the then SP had threatened to get him killed in an encounter if he did not withdraw his nomination in the 2014 elections.
Pawar announced his intention to contest as an independent candidate in the 2023 elections from Antagarh Vidhansabha in a press conference on Wednesday. He accused the then SP of creating pressure on him to withdraw his name in the 2014 Antagarh by-election. He said that the then SP, Rajendra Narayan Das, had pressurised him to do so.
Manturam said that because he was a representative of the Naxalite area, he was afraid of the threats he had received. “I had no option but to withdraw my nomination. I also mentioned this in my statement in court, but no action has been taken so far. I want an investigation to clear the allegation of withdrawing his name by exchanging money,” he told the media.
Manturam Pawar won an election on a Congress ticket in 1998 when Antagarh and Narayanpur used to be a single constituency. BJP candidate Vikram Usendi defeated him in the 2008 and 2013 elections. As Vikram Usendi got a ticket for the Lok Sabha election, Congress made Manturam its candidate for the by-election in 2014. However, he withdrew his nomination on the last day, creating a political stir.