Assembly elections 2023 in Madhya Pradesh are now in their final stages. The Mahakaushal area here has become a very high profile area of the state. With the intention of maintaining hold on the power of the state and neutralizing the anti-incumbency wave, the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded 7 MPs including 3 Union Ministers, in which 4 MPs including 2 Union Ministers are contesting the elections from Mahakaushal area alone, not only this. A former Chief Minister is also contesting elections from the same area, who lost his power in just 15 months. Apart from these, many former ministers are also clapping.
The position of Mahakaushal area is considered very powerful in the politics of the state. It is said that whichever party gets the lead in Mahakaushal area, it has dominance in the politics of the state. There are 8 districts under this region in which there are 38 assembly seats. Mahakaushal region includes Jabalpur and Chhindwara along with Katni, Mandla, Narsinghpur, Dindori, Balaghat and Seoni districts. In the 2018 elections, Congress had won 24 seats in this region and by performing well in other areas, the party was successful in forming the government in the state, ending the 15-year drought under the leadership of Kamal Nath.
How were the results in the last 3 elections?
In the last 3 elections in this high profile area, the figures were completely opposite and whichever party won here formed its government in Bhopal. This is the reason why BJP has taken a big gamble this time by fielding many big faces so that it retains power. In the 2018 elections, in the 38-seat Mahakaushal region, Congress had won 24 seats while BJP was reduced to 13 seats.
If we look at the results of 2013 assembly elections, BJP had captured 24 seats while Congress could win only 13 seats. In the two elections held here in the last 10 years, independent candidates had won one seat each in this area. Similarly, in the 2008 assembly elections, BJP won 22 seats while Congress won 16 seats. BJP formed the government after the 2008 and 2013 elections.
If we look at the vote percentage, Congress, which won 24 seats in the 2018 elections, got 42.05 percent votes, while BJP, which was limited to 13 seats, was also not far behind and got 40.04% votes. In this way, Congress got only 2 percent more votes than BJP. While in the 2013 elections, BJP had won 24 seats and got 43.69% votes, Congress, which won 13 seats, got 35.68% votes. In both these elections, Congress got 6.37 percent more votes. BJP is trying to get these votes in its favor.
Which big names are from Mahakaushal?
Out of 38 seats under Mahakaushal, 13 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) and 3 seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC). On these 38 seats, 5 former cabinet ministers including former Chief Minister Kamal Nath, former Speaker, former Deputy Speaker, a Cabinet Minister and a Minister of State are also presenting their challenge in the election field. Apart from this, four MPs including two Union Ministers are also contesting the elections. A former MP is also trying his luck.
Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath is the Congress candidate from Chhindwara seat in Chhindwara district, while former Speaker NP Prajapati is contesting from Gotegaon seat, former Deputy Speaker Hina Kanwre is contesting from Lanji seat on Congress ticket. Similarly, BJP has fielded Cabinet Minister Gaurishankar Bisen from Balaghat seat and Minister of State Ram Kishore Kanvre from Parswada seat.
Read this also – SP and AAP got a big blow in the 2018 elections in MP, they also lost in NOTA.
Congress has fielded former cabinet minister Lakhan Ghanghoria from Jabalpur East seat, former cabinet minister Tarun Bhanot from Jabalpur West seat and former cabinet minister Omkar Singh Markam from Dindaur seat. Similarly, former cabinet minister Ajay Vishnoi is the BJP candidate from Patan seat of Jabalpur district, former cabinet minister and BJP national secretary Omprakash Dhurve is the BJP candidate from Shahpura seat of Dindori. Former Minister of State Sanjay Pathak has also been made BJP’s candidate from Vijayraghavgarh seat in Katni district.
Congress has 14 out of 16 reserved seats.
Narsinghpur assembly seat of Mahakaushal area has become a very high profile seat because Union Minister Prahlad Patel is also contesting from here. Another Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste is contesting from Niwas Assembly seat of Mandla district. MP Rao Uday Pratap Singh is also contesting on BJP ticket from Gadarwada seat of Narsinghpur district. MP Rakesh Singh is also BJP candidate from Jabalpur West. Former MP Bodh Singh is contesting on Congress ticket from Katangi seat of Balaghat district.
Read this also – CM Shivraj Singh celebrated Diwali with his dear sisters, deposited money in his account
Congress had got a big victory in the last elections in Mahakaushal area. But this time BJP has made the contest very interesting by fielding 4 MPs including Union Ministers. In 2018, out of 38 seats in Mahakaushal, 14 out of 16 reserved seats went to Congress while BJP won only 2 seats. Making an aggressive strategy, BJP has fielded many veterans, now it has to be seen whether Congress is able to maintain its previous performance or whether BJP’s aggressive planning will be successful in winning.
