The upcoming Madhya Pradesh polls promise a high-stakes battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, but beneath this political showdown lie intriguing subplots across the state’s 230 Assembly seats.
From VIP constituencies to grudge matches, chief ministerial hopefuls to Union ministers brought in from Delhi, and party rebels, here are a few interesting contests to look out for:
- Budhni
In 2018, MP Chief Minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan won the seat. He has won this seat four times in a row since 2006. BJP has fielded once again fielded Chouhan on this seat.
- Chhindwara
The seat is currently held by former MP CM and current state Congress president Kamal Nath. He won Chhindwara in a by-election by over 25,000 votes.
- Narsinghpur
BJP leader Jalam Singh Patel won the Narsinghpur seat in 2018 Assembly elections. For this term, the BJP has placed Jalam Singh’s brother and Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel as the OBC face. In 2018, Jalam had won by over 37,000 votes.
Also Read: MP Election 2023: Congress’ first list of candidates likely to roll out on October 15
- Indore-1
In the last Assembly elections, Congress leader Sanjay Shukla won this constituency seat by over 8,000 votes. To contest against him, BJP has placed its vocal national general secretary, Kailash Vijayvargiya, as the party’s face for the Indore-1 constituency. Vijayvargiya is a six-time MLA (four times from Indore-2, twice from Mhow) and has won every Assembly election he has contested since 1990.
- Datia
Known for his controversial statements, the Madhya Pradesh Home Minister is again in the race from Datia, a seat he has been winning since 2008. In 2018, however, Mishra had only won narrowly against the Congress’s Bharti Rajendra, by 2,656 votes.
- Shivpuri
The traditional seat of members of Gwalior’s erstwhile royal family, Shivpuri last time voted for Yashodhara Raje Scindia, who is also a Madhya Pradesh minister. However, she has now bid farewell to electoral politics, citing medical reasons, sparking off speculation that nephew Jyotiraditya may be fielded by the BJP. Yashodhara, who was earlier elected in 1998, 2003 and 2013, won in 2018 by over 28,700 votes.
Also Read: MP Elections 2023: 5 big factors in epic Shivraj Chouhan-Kamal Nath battle
- Raghogarh
The turf of former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, a town in Guna district, was won in 2018 by Singh’s son Jaivardhan by over 46,600 votes. Jaivardhan will be defending the seat that his father first won in 1977.
- Rau
A former minister and state working president of the Congress, Jitu Patwari won Rau for the first time in 2013 and retained it in 2018 by a margin of 5,700 votes.
- Gwalior
Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalist and Energy Minister Pradhuman Singh Tomar has been retained in the seat. He won the 2018 election on a Congress ticket and, after jumping ship with Scindia, won it again in a bypoll on a BJP ticket, by over 33,000 votes.
Also Read: MP election 2023 Opinion Poll: Will Congress conquer Scindia citadel?
- Sidhi
A four-time MLA and the Brahmin face of the BJP in its stronghold of Vindhyachal, Kedarnath Shukla has been dropped from the seat this time. He is believed to have paid the price for the video that showed a supporter urinating upon a tribal man. The BJP has fielded MP Riti Pathak instead, with Shukla threatening to revolt.
- Lahar
The Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Govind Singh is seen as close to both senior Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh. Given his long-time rivalry with Jyotiraditya, he is vital to Congress’s plans against its rebel. In 2018, Singh won Lahar for the seventh time, beating his BJP rival by over 9,000 votes.
