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Bhopal: Eyeing a comeback to electoral politics in 2029, firebrand Hindutva leader and former chief minister Uma Bharti here on Wednesday launched the cow-protection campaign, proposed to cover every village in Madhya Pradesh over one and half years.Incidentally, the launch of the campaign turned out to be a show of the strong following she commanded among the Lodhi community she belonged to. Prominent Lodhi leaders of Madhya Pradesh including state minister Dharmendra Singh Lodhi, sitting BJP MLAs, Prallhad Lodhi and Pritam Lodhi, and ex-MLA Pradyumna Singh Lodhi were present at the launch of the campaign. Lodhis who fall under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category consist of 12-14 percent of the total population of Madhya Pradesh. The community has a significant political and social influence particularly in Bundelkhand region extending from Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh. Ms. Bharti has earlier declared that she is willing to contest from Jhansi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh in the 2029 polls, if the party desires. She had won the seat in 2014 LS polls. She however withdrew from the parliamentary elections in 2019 and 2024 citing various reasons. Jhansi LS constituency falls under Bundelkhand region. By declaring her keenness to contest in the upcoming LS elections from Jhansi, she made her intention clear that she is not interested in Madhya Pradesh politics, sources close to her said. The former Union minister Ms. Bharti said that the key objective of her campaign is to generate awareness among the people particularly in the rural areas on the importance of protection and preservation of cows for the farm sector. The campaign was launched on the occasion of Gopastami, a Hindu festival celebrating the day Lord Krishna started herding cows, on Wednesday. The BJP veteran also declared that she would resume her Ganga cleaning campaign at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on November four.
