BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh's longest-serving chief minister and BJP stalwart Shivraj Singh Chouhan is prone to play an necessary position in nationwide politics with Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling an election rally 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 positioned on the Bhopal-Delhi prepare 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 brought on by her dying. These had been the one two events when the Congress received the seat because it was created in 1967.
Talking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Harda on April 24, PM Modi praised Chouhan saying the 2 had served collectively within the get together group and likewise as chief ministers. “When Shivraj went to Parliament, I used to be working collectively as normal secretary of the get together. Now I wish to take him with me (to Delhi) as soon as once more,” Modi stated on the rally.
By the way, Chouhan had reached Vidisha via a Delhi-bound prepare after the announcement of his candidature. He led the BJP to a crushing victory in final 12 months's Meeting polls, although the get together, 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 chance to signify it once more after 20 years.
“The BJP is my mom, who has given me the whole lot,” 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 instances until 2004 when he resigned to change into Madhya Pradesh chief minister in 2005. “The Congress is barely contesting as a ritual as it’s no problem for us. We are going to win even from cubicles which have historically Voted for the Congress. Shivraj ji himself is reaching out to each half,” 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, may be seen interacting with road meals distributors whereas savoring chaat and samosas over a cup of tea. He additionally makes it a degree to satisfy voters, particularly girls, who type a big chunk of his help base.
Nevertheless, Vidisha district Congress president Mohit Raghuvanshi accused Chouhan of ignoring Vidisha parliamentary areas regardless of being the native MP and former CM, alleging the chief BJP has not fulfilled guarantees.
“Chouhan, who was the primary face of the BJP within the state for twenty years, has been confined to Vidisha for campaigning as a result of sturdy problem posed by the Congress. He has been diminished to the standing of a neighborhood chief,” 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 growth fund for parliamentarians.
Rasheed Kidwai, senior journalist and political observer, instructed PTI that the BJP, underneath strain from its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was “pressured” to subject Chouhan from the seat.
“It’s an open secret that Shivraj's reputation was sought to be checked however the BJP, underneath strain from RSS and ladies voters, determined to subject the previous chief minister,” Kidwai stated.
“He’s set to win by an enormous margin. If he wins by the most important margin from the state or nationally, it’s prone to change into a serious speaking level and might be in contrast with margins in Varanasi, Gandhinagar, Lucknow and elsewhere,” Kidwai added.
Nevertheless, it stays to be seen how Chouhan matches 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 the moment 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 neighborhood of Chouhan, in addition to 35 per cent SCs/STs, based on a neighborhood BJP chief.
Of the 19.38 lakh eligible voters in Vidisha, 10.04 lakh are males and 9.34 lakh girls.
