Harish Dubey, Bhind , The only reserves SC seat of Gwalior-Chambal region is in the control of BJP for the last three decades. The Congress faces the challenge to snatch the BJP’s stronghold and register win here. In the last three decades, eight Lok Sabha elections have taken place and Congress could not register win on even a single occasion.
In 2014 elections, the Congress had lost by a very huge margin of 1.59 lakh votes. BJP’s Bhagirath Prasad had registered big win over Imarti Devi of Congress.
The 2014 elections were very dramatic. Congress had given ticket to Bhagirath Prasad, an IAS officer who had joined politics. But Bhagirath changed sides and joined BJP at the last minute. This created big problem for Congress.
They acted hastily and fielded Dabra MLA Imarti Devi. But she was new to the area and could not pose challenge to Bhagirath.BSP is also aiming to register a strong presence in Bhind in 2019 polls. So it would not be a direct contest between Congress and BJP.
Assembly poll results enthuse Congress
On one hand, unfazed by the loss of power in the state the BJP will work for winning all 29 seats, the Congress, enthused by a return to power in the central Indian state after 15 years is eyeing to win at least 20 seats.
In the 2014 polls (a year after it won a thumping majority in assembly polls winning 165 seats) the BJP riding the Modi wave won 27 out of the 29 Lok Sabha seats, while the Congress was decimated to just two seats, Jyotiraditya Scindia in Guna and present CM Kamal Nath in his pocket-borough Chhindwara.
One of the 27 seats, the Ratlam-Jhabua seat which was won by the BJP in 2014, however, was later wrested by the Congress in 2015 by-election.Both, the Congress and the BJP have begun the necessary spadework for the general elections.
The state Congress unit is eyeing to win at least 20 seats in the state. BJP’s co in charge for Lok Sabha polls in MP and ex-Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyaya said recently the party will field winnable candidates who can fetch for the party all 29 seats.
Senior Congress leaders, who lost the assembly polls in the state, include Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh, Ramniwas Rawat, outgoing assembly’s deputy speaker Rajendra Singh, ex-minister Mukesh Naik, state Congress working president Surendra Chowdhary and ex-MP Sunderlal Tiwari.
None of the newly elected MLAs or ministers is likely to be fielded in the LS polls, owing to the party not having a simple majority in the Vidhan Sabha on its own.
The seats where there is a strong possibility of sitting BJP MP’s being denied tickets, include Betul, Rewa, Sagar, Rajgarh, Satna, Mandsaur, Sidhi, Dewas, Hoshangabad, Ratlam, Khajuraho, Vidisha, Bhind, Morena, Gwalior and Shahdol.
Out of these candidates on three seats are bound to be changed, as sitting MP’s from Khajuraho and Dewas have already vacated their seats after being elected to the Vidhan Sabha recently, while the Vidisha seat too will see a new candidate as the present incumbent, the external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has already made it clear she won’t contest next LS polls due to health reasons.
If the results of the recent assembly polls are to be taken into account, the BJP seems to be on a sticky wicket in all four seats of Gwalior-Chambal region, including Guna, Gwalior, Morena and Bhind seats, besides other seats, among them Burhanpur-Khandwa, Mandla, Balaghat, Khargone, Ratlam, Betul and Chhindwara seats.
Development to be key poll issue
It cannot be denied that Bhind is most backward among the all the districts of Chambal region. In 2019 development will be the key issue. The Congress has already said that it would highlight the neglect of the region during 15 years of BJP rule in the state. On the other hand the BJP will highlight the rapid development of the country and the state during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.