Madhya Pradesh Lok Sabha elections 2024: Key seats, candidates in phase 1

India is all set to witness sizzling election fever starting April 19, as the world’s largest democracy holds phase 1 of the general polls. In the first phase, 91 constituencies in 18 states and 2 UTs, including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, will be participating in the electoral process. A total of 1,285 candidates will be vying for dominance in the elections.

In Madhya Pradesh, the elections will be held on six seats in phase 1. Those six seats are: Chhindwara, Balaghat, Jabalpur, Mandla, Sidhi, and Shahdol.

It is to be noted that elections in India will be held in seven phases in total. The first phase of elections will be held on April 19, the second on April 26, the third on May 7, the fourth on May 13, the fifth on May 20, the sixth on May 25 and the seventh on June 1. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

Madhya Pradesh Lok Sabha elections: Key candidates and seats

Chhindwara:

The Chhindwara seat is among the state’s high-profile Lok Sabha seats where Congress incumbent MP Nakul Nath, son of veteran leader Kamal Nath, is in the fray. Both the national ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are leaving no stone unturned to clinch victory here.

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To counter Nath, the BJP has fielded Vivek Bunty Sahu, president of the Chhindwara district unit, from the seat.

Chhindwara has remained a Congress stronghold since 1952. Kamal Nath prevailed in this seat even during the backlash that followed after the emergency in 1977.

Balaghat: Both BJP and Congress have fielded fresh faces on this seat, considered a BJP bastion since 1998. It is to be noted that no BJP MP has been able to serve two consecutive terms here.

BJP has fielded Bharti Pardhi while the Congress has fielded Samrat Saraswat here.

Jabalpur:

Jabalpur is called the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh. This seat has been a BJP stronghold for the past 28 years. In 2019, the BJP’s vote share here was a whopping 65 per cent.

BJP has fielded its new candidate, Ashish Dubey, 52, from the seat while Congress has fielded Advocate Dinesh Yadav.

Sidhi:

Sidhi is another significant political battleground in MP. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress have fielded their candidates, Rajesh Mishra and Kamaleshwar Patel, respectively, from this seat.