Counting of votes is going on for 230 member assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. While Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to return to power in the state, Congress wants to return to power with a big victory. Although there are chances of tough and exciting contests on every seat in the state, everyone’s eyes are on these 25 seats. Apart from Budhni and Chhindwara, these seats include Dabra, Dimani, Gwalior, Khargapur, Niwas, Narela, Indore-1 and Rau assembly. BJP and Congress are also trying to spoil each other’s game in the elections.
Let us know which of these 25 seats the Congress is winning and which seats the Bharatiya Janata Party is winning.
Budhni Seat: Budhni assembly seat is the most high profile seat in the state politics. However, this seat has been considered a stronghold of BJP. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan is contesting elections from here. Congress has fielded Vikram Mastal against Shivraj Singh Chauhan. CM Shivraj has won elections from here many times. In the 2018 elections, 15 candidates including Chief Minister Shivraj had contested, in which BJP candidate Shivraj Singh had won.
Indore-1 Seat: Everyone’s eyes are on Indore-1 seat of Indore district because prominent leader of state politics Kailash Vijayvargiya is in the fray on BJP ticket. Vijayvargiya is contesting elections after 10 years. However, in 2018 this seat was with Congress and then Sanjay Shukla had won on Congress ticket. In the then elections, Sanjay Shukla had defeated BJP candidate Sudarshan Gupta. Whereas BJP had won in the previous two elections (2008 and 2013).
Dimani Seat: This time Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar is contesting from Dimani Assembly seat, one of the most popular seats of the state. His contesting from here is special because in the 2018 elections, Congress had won 4 out of 6 seats. Congress has fielded Ravindra Singh Tomar against Narendra Singh Tomar. The big thing is that Narendra Singh Tomar is contesting elections from here after 15 years. BJP is waiting for its first victory in Dimani seat since 2008.
Rau Seat: Congress youth leader Jitu Patwari is contesting from Rau assembly seat of Indore district. He has won elections from here twice in a row and is eyeing a hat-trick of election victories. This seat came into existence after delimitation in 2008. In response to Congress’s Jitu Patwari, BJP has fielded Madhu Verma. In the 2018 elections, both these candidates got more than one lakh votes each. The margin of victory was also quite small.
Joura Seat: Jaura seat falls in Morena district of the state. No party has a monopoly on this seat. Every time the party that wins here changes. This time Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Subedar Singh Rajodha from Jaura assembly constituency while Pankaj Upadhyay is in the fray from Congress. This area is known because of veteran leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narendra Singh Tomar. In the 2018 elections, BJP’s Subedar Singh slipped to third place. Whereas Banwari Lal Sharma of Congress had won the election. However, after the death of Banwari Lal, in the by-election held here in 2020, Subedar Singh Rajodha took revenge for the previous defeat by defeating Pankaj Upadhyay of Congress. Once again there is a possibility of a tough competition between the two.
Lahar Seat: Lahar seat of Bhind district holds a special place in the politics of the state. Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Dr. Govind Singh has been elected MLA from Lahar seat continuously for 33 years. BJP has fielded Ambarish Sharma against Govind Singh. Govind Singh is considered a strong pillar here. He won for the first time on Janata Dal ticket. Then he joined Congress and has been winning elections continuously.
Gwalior Seat: On Gwalior seat, Pradyuman Singh Tomar, who was a minister in Shivraj government, is in the fray and Sunil Sharma from Congress is challenging him. Pradyuman Singh Tomar left Congress along with Jyotiraditya Scindia in the defection in 2020 and joined BJP. Then in the by-election held on Gwalior assembly seat, Pradyuman Singh Tomar defeated Sunil Sharma of Congress.
Dabra Seat: Imrati Devi is contesting from BJP’s side from Dabra seat reserved for Scheduled Caste, while Suresh Raje is contesting from Congress’s side. This seat also came into discussion in the defection of 2020. In the 2018 elections, Imarti Devi had won on Congress ticket. But in 2020, she joined BJP but lost to Suresh Raje in the by-election. There is competition between the two again.
Datia Seat: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra is contesting from Datia seat. Congress has fielded Rajendra Bharti against him. In the 2018 elections, Narottam Mishra defeated Congress candidate Rajendra Bharti. There has been competition between the two thrice so far and every time Narottam Mishra has won.
Shivpuri Seat: Shivpuri seat of Shivpuri district is known after Yashodhara Raje Scindia. But she is not contesting the elections this time, hence BJP has fielded Devendra Kumar Jain from here while Congress has fielded KP Singh. KP Singh is MLA from Pichhore seat. BJP’s Yashodhara Raje Scindia had won in the 2018 elections.
Raghogarh Seat: Raghogarh seat of Guna district is known because of former Chief Minister Digviji Singh. This time, Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Hirendra Singh Bunty Banna from here, while Digvijay Singh’s son Jaivardhan Singh is in the fray from the Congress side. Jayawardhan has won 2 consecutive elections from here.
Chachoura Seat: Congress is currently in control of Chachoda seat in Guna district. Digvijay Singh’s brother Laxman Singh is the MLA from here on Congress ticket and this time too he is trying his luck in the elections. Priyanka Meena is contesting against him from BJP. In the last election, Laxman had defeated Mamta Meena by a margin of 9,797 votes.
Top Seat: State’s prominent leader and minister in Shivraj government Govind Singh Rajput is again in the fray from Surkhi seat of Sagar district and Neeraj Sharma from Congress is in the fray in front of him. This seat also came into discussion due to defection in 2020. Then Congress MLA Govind Singh Rajput joined BJP along with Jyotiraditya Scindia. After this, Govind Singh Rajput won on BJP ticket in the by-election held here.
Khargapur Seat: Khargapur seat of Tikamgarh district is also a famous seat of the state. BJP has fielded Rahul Singh Lodhi here while Chanda Singh Gaur is presenting her challenge from the Congress side. Rahul Singh Lodhi is the nephew of former Chief Minister Uma Bharti. In the 2018 elections, there was a contest between BJP’s Rahul Singh Lodhi and Congress’s Chanda Surendra Singh Gaur in which Lodhi won.
Rewa Seat: Rajendra Shukla is contesting from Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rewa assembly seat in Rewa district while Rajendra Sharma is contesting from Congress’s behalf. In the 2018 elections, BJP had won all the eight seats of Rewa. In the last 5 elections, Congress did not win even once from here.
Churhat Seat: Former Chief Minister Arjun Singh’s son is contesting from Churhat seat in Sidhi district. However, Arjun Singh’s son was defeated in the last election. This time BJP has fielded Shardendu Tiwari from Churhat seat, while Ajay Arjun Singh is presenting the challenge from Congress.
Sidhi Seat: On Sidhi seat of Sidhi district, Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Lok Sabha MP Riti Pathak while Congress has fielded Gyan Singh. Reeti Pathak has won the Lok Sabha elections from here in 2014 and 2019. She is contesting assembly elections for the first time. Kedarnath Shukla of BJP had won the 2018 elections.
Jabalpur Cantt Seat: BJP is currently in control of Jabalpur Cantt seat in Jabalpur district. BJP has fielded Ashok Rohani from here while Abhishek Chowkse Chintu is in the fray from Congress’s side. Ashok Rohani has been winning the Jabalpur Cantt seat since 2013. Before this, his father Ishwardas Rohani has also been an MLA from here.
Residence Seat: Niwas seat of Mandla district is a very high profile seat as BJP has fielded Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste. Congress currently holds the seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes. In response to Faggan Singh Kulaste, Congress has fielded Chain Singh Warkade.
Narsinghpur Seat: Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel is contesting from BJP on the very high profile Narsinghpur seat of Narsinghpur district against whom Congress has fielded Lakhan Singh Patel. Currently, Jalam Singh Patel is the MLA from here, who is the younger brother of Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel.
Chhindwara Seat: Chhindwara Assembly seat, one of the most high profile seats in the state, is held by Congress. Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath is contesting elections from here while Vivek Bunty Sahu is contesting from BJP’s side. Earlier in the 2018 elections, Deepak Saxena of Congress had won. Deepak vacated this seat for Kamal Nath to become the CM and then in the 2019 by-election, Kamal Nath won the election from here.
Bhojpur Seat: Raisen district is known by the name of former Chief Minister Sunderlal Patwa. BJP continues to hold the Bhojpur seat of the district. From Bhojpur seat, Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Surendra Lal Patwa while Congress has given ticket to Rajkumar Patel. Surendra Lal Patwa is the nephew of former CM Sunderlal Patwa.
Narela Seat: Medical Education Minister of Madhya Pradesh Government Vishwas Sarang is contesting from Narela Assembly seat of the capital Bhopal while Congress has fielded Manoj Shukla. After the delimitation of 2008, 3 new assembly seats were added to Bhopal. Narela, Huzur and Bhopal central seats were formed. BJP has a strong hold on Narela seat.
Bhopal Uttar Seat: There is a possibility of a tough contest on the Bhopal North Assembly seat of the capital Bhopal. Congress MLA Arif Akil has been winning for the last 25 years. This time Congress has fielded Mohammad Atif Akil, while BJP has given ticket to Alok Sharma. In 2018, Congress’s Arif Akil defeated BJP’s Fatima Rasool Siddiqui alias Gudiya from here.
Govindpura Seat: Govindpura seat in the capital Bhopal is like a strong fort of BJP, while Congress has to wait a long time for victory here. The daughter-in-law of former Chief Minister Babulal Gaur is the MLA from Govindpura seat. BJP has fielded Krishna Gaur from Govindpura seat while Congress has given ticket to Ravindra Sahu. Babulal Gaur has won 8 consecutive elections.
