As the Congress candidate from Budhni, Vikram Matsal, the actor who played ‘Hanuman’ in Anand Sagar’s 2008 television series Ramayan, is all set to take on Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who he says has “betrayed” the people in the constituency.
Matsal’s named featured in the party’s first list of 144 candidates for the Madhya Pradesh polls on Sunday. The state goes to polls on November 17 and the votes will be counted on December 3.
ACTING TO POLITICS: WHY THE NEW ROLE?
According to Matsal, his decision to contest from the Budhni seat in Sehore district, the chief minister’s stronghold, came from his experience during his social work. “I hail from Salkanpur village near Bhopal. It comes under Chouhan’s constituency. I am from a humble rural background, and my family is involved in farming,” he says.
“I was associated with social work for long and used to work for conservation of canals. I called one of the help centres of the Chouhan-led scheme on 181 to inform them about the irregularities in the work. They blocked my number. If they can do this to a person from the media, imagine what they must be doing to commoners,” asks Matsal, who joined the Congress in July.
LET’S TALK DEVELOPMENT
Matsal says Budhni lacks development. “In Budhni, there are no facilities. No jobs. No medical or engineering or nursing colleges. I was expecting development in my region as the CM comes from this constituency, but the development stopped a few years ago,” he says.
“I visited Chindhwara to see what development actually means. Tribals are eating pizza in Congress leader Kamal Nath’s constituency. I feel deceived by the Chouhan government,” says Matsal.
THE POLL PROSPECTS
When asked if he was nervous about contesting against the sitting CM Chouhan, Matsal recites a line from Hanuman Chalisa: “Bhoot pishach nikat nahi aave (Whoever chants Hanuman’s name, evil spirits will not come anywhere near them).”
“It is not about Hanuman or Vikram Matsal, we as voters are Hanuman fighting against the Ravan in the government. Earlier, all candidates against Chouhan have been outsiders, but for the first time, in me, the Congress has found a local candidate.”
Matsal is confident of a win. “This year’s election is different from the previous one. I’d got the feedback and also spoke to a number of people before joining the Congress. People are really angry and tired of the government. I am sure of winning the Budhni seat.”
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