BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh’s longest-serving chief minister and BJP stalwart Shivraj Singh Chouhan is prone to play an essential function in nationwide politics with Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling an election rally just lately that he wished to “take him to Delhi (Centre)”. Chouhan, who was the chief minister from 2005 to 2023, is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from his stronghold Vidisha, an historic metropolis by the way situated on the Bhopal-Delhi practice route.
The BJP candidate is up in opposition to Pratap Bhanu Sharma, a Congressman who received the seat in 1980 and 1984 on the again of the post-Emergency Indira Gandhi juggernaut and later, the sympathy wave attributable to her loss of life. These had been the one two events when the Congress received the seat because it was created in 1967.
Speaking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Harda on April 24, PM Modi praised Chouhan saying the 2 had served collectively within the social gathering organisation and in addition as chief ministers. “When Shivraj went to Parliament, I was working together as general secretary of the party. Now I want to take him with me (to Delhi) once again,” Modi stated on the rally.
Incidentally, Chouhan had reached Vidisha by a Delhi-bound practice after the announcement of his candidature. He led the BJP to a crushing victory in final 12 months’s Assembly polls, although the social gathering, in a shock transfer, picked Mohan Yadav as his successor.
Fondly known as ‘mama’ (uncle) and ‘paon paon wale bhaiya’ in his youthful days, Chouhan might be contesting his sixth Lok Sabha election from Vidisha, a seat represented by BJP stalwarts like late Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1991) and Sushma Swaraj (2009 and 2014), in addition to newspaper writer Ramnath Goenka (1971).
After his identify was introduced, Chouhan stated the seat was handed over to him by Vajpayee and it was heartening that he was getting a possibility to signify it once more after 20 years.
“The BJP is my mother, who has given me everything,” Chouhan had stated on the time. Chouhan, after serving as first-time MLA from his residence turf Budhni, was fielded by the BJP within the 1992 LS bypoll necessitated by the resignation of sitting MP Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
As an MP, he represented the seat 5 occasions until 2004 when he resigned to turn out to be Madhya Pradesh chief minister in 2005. “The Congress is only contesting as a ritual as it is no challenge for us. We will win even from booths that have traditionally voted for the Congress. Our aim is to increase the margin. Shivraj ji himself is reaching out to every part,” state BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal, a local of Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency, instructed PTI.
On the marketing campaign path, Chouhan, accompanied by spouse Sadhana Singh, might be seen interacting with avenue meals distributors whereas savouring chaat and samosas over a cup of tea. He additionally makes it a degree to fulfill voters, particularly girls, who kind a big chunk of his assist base.
However, Vidisha district Congress president Mohit Raghuvanshi accused Chouhan of ignoring Vidisha parliamentary areas regardless of being the native MP and former CM, alleging the BJP chief has not fulfilled guarantees.
“Chouhan, who used to be the main face of the BJP in the state for two decades, has been confined to Vidisha for campaigning due to the strong challenge posed by the Congress. He has been reduced to the status of a local leader,” Raghuvanshi instructed PTI.
He claimed Congress candidate Sharma had arrange instructional establishments when he was MP for 2 phrases, that too at a time when there was no native space improvement fund for parliamentarians.
Rasheed Kidwai, senior journalist and political observer, instructed PTI that the BJP, underneath stress from its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was “forced” to discipline Chouhan from the seat.
“It is an open secret that Shivraj’s popularity was sought to be checked but the BJP, under pressure from RSS and women voters, decided to field the former chief minister,” Kidwai stated.
“He is set to win by a huge margin. If he wins by the biggest margin from the state or nationally, it is likely to become a major talking point and will be compared with margins in Varanasi, Gandhinagar, Lucknow and elsewhere,” Kidwai added.
However, it stays to be seen how Chouhan suits into the Modi-Amit Shah set-up, Kidwai asserted. Vidisha Lok Sabha seat is unfold throughout eight meeting seats in Vidisha, Raisen, Sehore and Dewas districts.
Bhojpur, Sanchi (SC), and Silwani meeting constituencies are in Raisen district, Vidisha and Basoda in Vidisha district, Budhni and Icchawar in Sehore and Khategaon in Dewas.
Seven of those eight meeting segments of Vidisha LS seat are at present held by the BJP with Chouhan representing Budhni. Swaraj had received the 2009 Lok Sabha polls by a margin of three.90 lakh votes after the nomination of Congress candidate Rajkumar Patel, a former MLA from Budhni and minister in Digvijaya Singh’s cupboard, was rejected on technical grounds.
Vidisha Lok Sabha is 80 per cent rural and dominated by OBCs, together with a sizeable chunk from the Dhakad-Kirar group of Chouhan, in addition to 35 per cent SCs/STs, in line with an area BJP chief.
Of the 19.38 lakh eligible voters in Vidisha, 10.04 lakh are males and 9.34 lakh girls.
