A conversation that took place before last month’s Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections between District Collector of Shahdol Anubha Shrivastava and her subordinate Pooja Chaudhary went viral on social media. Shrivastava can be seen asking Chaudhary to make Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win the polls in the WhatsApp chat.
“I want Congress to lose. I am calling Dahariya Returning Officer now. If you want to take charge as an SDM then make BJP win in Jaitpur,” Shrivastava wrote. NDTV India reported that while speaking to the collector, Chaudhary agreed to do as per instructions. However, she also expressed her concern by adding “what if there is an inquiry”.
Shrivastava asked Chaudhary to not be worried saying she “will take care”. “If you work hard, then after the BJP forms a government, you will be made SDM,” the IAS officer added.
It is noteworthy that BJP’s Manisha Singh won the elections from Jaitpur constituency. However, the Congress Party formed the government in the state by winning 114 seats.