Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the current Chief Minister, has been selected as the candidate for the Budhni assembly constituency by his party.
With the Madhya Pradesh assembly election of 2023 looming, attention is focused on key constituencies that will determine the fate of prominent leaders from both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress. The primary battle in the Hindi heartland remains between the BJP and the Congress, although other parties such as the Samajwadi Party (SP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are also participating. Here’s a look at some of the key battlegrounds that will shape the political landscape before the polling begins.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the incumbent Chief Minister, will be contesting from the Budhni assembly constituency, while the Congress has selected actor Vikram Mastal as his opponent.
In the Chhindwara assembly constituency, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath is facing off against BJP’s Vivek Bunty Sahu. Kamal Nath had previously won the by-elections in 2019, but his tenure as chief minister ended after Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government came back to power in the state. Jaivardhan Singh, son of former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, is contesting from his ‘family’ bastion, the Raghogarh constituency, where he is being challenged by Hirendra Singh from the BJP camp. BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya is contesting from the Indore-1 constituency, up against Congress’ Sanjay Shukla.
Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has been fielded from Narsingpur, while Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra is contesting from the Datia seat. Also, the BJP has fielded Ambrish Sharma to contest against Congress’ Govind Singh in the Lahar assembly constituency. Narsinghpur, Datia, and Lahar are key constituencies to watch in this election.
The Madhya Pradesh assembly election is scheduled for Friday, with the counting of votes set to take place on December 3.