MPs, ministers, rebels, turfs: The 18 contests to look out for in Madhya Pradesh polls

The Chief Minister has won this seat four times in a row since 2006. In the last election, he defeated former state Congress president Arun Yadav, the son of ex-CM Subhash Yadav, by over 58,000 votes.

2. Chhindwara (2019 bypoll: Kamal Nath, Cong)

The current state Congress president is, by all accounts, the party’s CM face. After the Congress won narrowly in 2018 and appointed Kamal Nath the CM, he won Chhindwara in a by-election by over 25,000 votes. The BJP will spare no resource to upset its key rival.

3. Dimani (2020 bypoll: Ravindra Singh Tomar Bhidosa, Cong)

The contest for this seat in the Morena region is interesting now as the BJP has fielded Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Dimani was won in 2018 by Girraj Dandotiya of the Congress by over 10,000 votes. After Dandotiya rebelled with Jyotiraditya Scindia to join the BJP, there was a bypoll in 2020, in which the Congress’s Bhidosa won.

4. Narsinghpur (2018: Jalam Singh Patel, BJP)

Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel has been dispatched as a tall OBC face. But he is contesting from this seat for the first time, after his brother Jalam Singh Patel vacated it for him. In 2018, Jalam had won by over 37,000 votes.

5. Niwas (2018: Ashok Marskole, Cong)

On this seat, a Union MoS and the BJP’s tribal face, Faggan Singh Kulaste, is in the race now. The sitting Mandla MP has replaced his younger brother Rampyare Kulaste on the BJP ticket. Rampyare had won Niwas twice, in 2008 and 2013, but lost to the Congress’s Marsokle by 28,000 votes in 2018.

6. Indore-1 (2018: Sanjay Shukla, Cong)

The BJP’s vocal national general secretary, Kailash Vijayvargiya, is its candidate from Indore-1. A six-time MLA (four times from Indore-2, twice from Mhow), who has won every Assembly election he has contested since 1990, Vijayvargiya has made the competition tough for the Congress’s Shukla, who won by over 8,000 votes in 2018.

7. Datia (2018: Narottam Mishra, BJP)

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.

8. Lahar (2018: Govind Singh, Cong)

The Leader of the Opposition (LoP), 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 plans against its rebel. In 2018, Singh had won Lahar for the seventh time, beating his BJP rival by over 9,000 votes.

9. Sidhi (2018: Kedarnath Shukla, BJP)

A four-time MLA and the Brahmin face of the BJP in its stronghold of Vindhyachal, 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.

10. Shivpuri (2018: Yashodhara Raje Scindia, BJP)

The traditional seat of members of Gwalior’s erstwhile royal family, Shivpuri last time voted in Yashodhara, 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.

11. Raghogarh (2018: Jaivardhan Singh, Cong)

The family turf of former CM Digvijaya Singh, this erstwhile princely 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.

12. Rau (2018: Jitu Patwari, Cong)

A former minister and state working president of the Congress, Patwari won Rau for the first time in 2013, and retained it in 2018 by a margin of 5,700 votes.

13. Jhabua (2019 bypoll: Kantilal Bhuria, Cong)

A former Union minister, Bhuria had wrested the tribal-dominated Jhabua from the BJP in a 2019 bypoll by a margin of over 27,800 votes. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha five times – thrice from Jhabua and twice from Ratlam (ST seat).

14. Chahchoura (2018: Lakshman Singh, Cong)

The younger brother of Digvijaya Singh, Lakshman returned to the Congress in 2013 after a brief stint in the BJP. In 2018, he beat the BJP’s Mamta Meena by 9,700 votes. Meena has now joined the Aam Aadmi Party.

15. Satna (2018: Siddharth Sukhlal Kushwaha, Cong)

The BJP has fielded four-time MP Ganesh Singh to take on Kushwaha, whose 2018 win had ended the BJP’s winning streak starting 2003 from Satna. Singh is also expected to consolidate the BJP’s base in the Vindhya Pradesh region. However, Kushwaha is set to face rebellion with BJP leader Ratnakar Chaturvedi quitting and announcing plans to contest as an Independent.

16. Gwalior (2020 bypoll: Pradhuman Singh Tomar, BJP)

Jyotiraditya loyalist and Energy Minister Pradhuman Singh Tomar has been retained on 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. He earlier won the seat on a Congress ticket in 2008.

17. Harsud (2018: Kunwar Vijay Shah, BJP)

The Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister and a popular leader, Shah has been winning this seat since 2008. In 2018, he won by over 18,000 votes.

18. Sanwer (2020 bypoll: Tulsiram Silawat, BJP)

A two-time MLA, Silawat was one of the 22 MLAs who defected from the Congress to the BJP along with Jyotiraditya. He re-won Silawat as a BJP candidate in the 2020 bypoll, winning by over 53,264 votes.