Kesses Member of Parliament Dr Swarup Mishra says he has no grudge with Deputy President William Ruto, even after the Kenya Kwanza presidential flag bearer recently told the electorate in his constituency not to re-elect him on August 9.
Dr Mishra, speaking on Sunday, went ahead to ask Kesses voters to vote for Dr Ruto as President and him as their MP on an independent ticket.
“Ruto and I have no problem at all. Therefore, I am imploring on the residents of Kesses to vote for me as their MP and Ruto as our President,” he said amidst cheers from his supporters at a Constituency Development Fund (CDF) event.
During campaign trail in his political bastion of Uasin Gishu a week ago, Dr Ruto told Kesses voters not to vote for Dr Mishra, who is defending his seat on an independent ticket, but instead vote for the UDA candidate Julius Ruto.
The DP called on his supporters not to elect his detractors, saying they had turned against him and became proud after riding on his wave to win their seats in 2017.
Lawmakers marked as the DP’s enemies in the Rift include MPs Joshua Kutuny (Cherang’any), Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills), Sila Tiren (Moiben) and Dr Swarup Mishra (Kesses) and Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos.
But speaking over the weekend, Dr Mishra said he holds no bitterness against the DP and that he respects him as a national leader.
He said despite seeking to retain his seat on an independent ticket, he still considers the DP his friend and will continue to campaign for him to be elected the fifth president of Kenya.
“Ruto is a good leader and I urge voters from Kesses to elect me as their MP and vote for Ruto as our fifth president. Ruto is a man of honor with leadership qualities that our country need,” said Mishra
The MP, however, has not revealed why he ditched the DP’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), only insisting that he will continue to support DP Ruto's 2022 presidential bid.
Dr Mishra challenged voters in Kesses to vet the development record of his competitors and make informed decisions so as to safeguard development gains that the constituency has made during his tenure for the last five years.
The MP challenged his opponents to embrace tolerant politics and advocate for peace during the campaigns in the constituency.
A section of Kesses residents came out to back the MP, lashing out against the DP over his recent remarks, and accusing him of fighting their MP and meddling in the constituency politics by inciting them against reelecting the incumbent.
The angry residents vowed to vote for Mishra on August 8 citing his track record and not because of his political affiliation.
“We are telling DP Ruto to focus on his presidential ambition and keep off from attacking our MP. Ruto should focus on national politics and leave us to elect an MP of our choice,” said Mr Daniel Kiplagat, a Kesses resident.
While promising to vote for Dr Ruto as the President, they maintained that it is the preserve of voters to decide who to elect for the rest of the elective seats, including the MP’s seat.
They said the DP must stop forcing them to elect UDA aspirants at the expense of their MP who has done great for the last five years.
“As residents of Kesses, we going to re-elect Mishra because his development record. The DP is doing a lot of harm to residents of Kesses by inciting them against Mishra. We shall vote for him as President but at our constituency we are going to elect Mishra regardless of his political affiliation,” said Mr Kiplagat
According to residents, forcing them not to elect Mishra was counter productive as residents continued to benefit from various development projects initiated by him.
“Our MP has helped us a lot through empowerment projects targeting youths, women, elderly people among needy people. If today he is going to be voted out, many people are going to suffer,” said John Rono, another resident.
Dr Mishra’s supporters also took issue with Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, Soy MP Caleb Kositany from neighboring constituencies whom they accused of interfering with Kesses politics, accusing them of inciting residents against Dr Mishra.
“Politicians from other parts of Uasin Gishu should not dictate to us on how we should elect our leaders. As residents of Kesses we understand our needs and we know the right leaders that we want. Politicians from Soy, Kapseret, Turbo and other constituencies in Uasin Gishu must keep off our politics we know our constituency better than what they think they know. We have already made our mind our MP come August 9 will be Dr Swarup Mishra,” said Mr Kiplagat.
The Kesses MP has been rated by the National Government- Constituency Development Fund (NG –CDF) board as one of the best performing MPs in the country. He is famed for distributing dairy cows and foodstuffs to area residents and for vibrant youth empowerment projects.
