4 min readBhopalJun 5, 2024 04:07 PM IST
First published on: Jun 5, 2024 at 04:04 PM IST
One of the biggest winners of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh was Vivek ‘Bunty’ Sahu, the 45-year-old chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Chhindwara unit. The leader became a ‘giant slayer’ Tuesday after results showed that he had beaten Congress’s sitting MP Nakul Nath in Chhindwara — the stronghold of Kamal Nath, Nakul’s father and a former chief minister of the state — by a margin of 1,13,618 votes.
For Sahu, this is a major triumph. Until now, the leader had lost thrice to the Nath family first to Nakul Nath in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and later to Kamal Nath in the 2019 Madhya Pradesh assembly bypolls and the assembly elections held late last year.
The victory is significant for the BJP too. Until it finally fell, the Nath family bastion had eluded the BJP in successive elections despite its nearly two decades of rule in the state.
In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express, Bunty speaks about his win, his plans for Chhindwara, and what went wrong for Nakul Nath this election season.
Your win over Nakul Nath was the biggest prize for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. Your initial thoughts
The people of Chhindwara have given me a big responsibility. They have accepted our dreams and put their faith in us. I’m happy and will work towards helping Chhindwara develop and grow.
You have fought multiple elections against the Nath family. What was it that helped you win this time
I think the biggest factor was Modi. The policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been accepted by the people. In the last 10 years, there was a BJP government in the Centre and a Congress MP in Chhindwara. Voters were fed up with the MP and wanted to be part of the BJP government’s development agenda.
What do you think went wrong for Nakul Nath?
Nakul did not play his part as an MP (as he should have). He would come to Chhindwara holding his father’s hand, picnic here and leave. His whole campaign was centred on Kamal Nath — Nakul was fighting the election on his father’s name alone.
The father fought the election on his merit because he knew his son couldn’t. The people of Chhindwara knew this too.
What about Kamal Nath? Do you still see him as a challenge in the future?
I think Kamal Nath should now retire from politics. He couldn’t shore up a victory for his son. The people of Chhindwara rejected them within five months (of Kamal Nath winning the Chhindwara assembly seat). He should resign as MLA and leave.
One criticism against the Chhindwara BJP is that it’s a divided house. With more and more Congress leaders joining the BJP, how will you stabilise your unit?
We’re united. It’s the Congress that should reflect on why it’s broken. Not a single BJP leader has left for the Congress (here). We take everyone with us and believe in the slogan ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’. Meanwhile, the Congress is still focused on its own families. Kamal Nath didn’t let go of a single opportunity to promote his family. No local leader is given a chance to grow in the party.
Kamal Nath is credited with promoting development in Chhindwara. How will you take this forward as an MP?
We’ll be holding consultations with various stakeholders to chart a development course soon. We’ll take Chhindwara forward.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s Chhindwara unit chief Vivek ‘Bunty’ Sahu. (File) 
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