Bhopal: The Jabalpur West assembly constituency in the Mahakaushal region of Madhya Pradesh, which has always witnessed a bipolar electoral battle between the Congress and the BJP, is likely to see a tough contest again in this election.
After suffering a loss in two consecutive assembly elections – 2013 and 2018 — against the Congress’ sitting MLA Tarun Bhanot, the BJP’s central leadership has replaced its three-time ex-MLA Harendra Singh ‘Babbu’ and has fielded sitting Jabalpur MP Rakesh Singh.
The BJP has chosen its heavyweight Rakesh Singh to get back the Jabalpur West seat from the Congress and to weaken the grand old party in the Mahakaushal region. Rakesh was appointed the state unit president of the BJP and the party suffered a setback in 2018.
Subsequent to the defeat in the assembly election, he was replaced with Khajuraho MP V. D. Sharma. However, due to his strong connections with the party’s central and state leadership, he managed to get a ticket for a Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and won the election during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi wave.
The Congress leadership reposed its faith in its sitting MLA Bhanot, who snatched this seat from the BJP with a close margin after more than two decades in 2013, but increased the victory margin to 18,000 subsequently.
Bhanot, who is considered close to the state Congress president Kamal Nath and Rajya Sabaha MP Vivek Tankha, was the finance minister during the 15 months Congress government in Madhya Pradesh. Bhanot’s uncle Chandra Kumar Bhanot previously contested from the Jabalpur (West) seat and also served as a minister in the state cabinet.
Speaking to IANS Bhanot claimed, “Victory margin will increase manifold this time because I have been in touch with the people of my constituency for the last several years. Before I got elected as a MLA, I served the people as a municipal corporator for years. The people of Jabalpur are educated and they are not going to be misled. The BJP candidate has no connection with the local people, therefore, I would say that the people will elect me with more number of votes than in the previous election.”
Singh, who remained out of the state’s politics since he got elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019, would be contesting his first ever assembly election. He would be contesting against a leader who has established himself as a prominent face after winning two consecutive elections from that particular seat.
Political observes believe he won the Lok Sabha election on PM Modi’s name, but the assembly election would be tough for him. However, what is a positive for Singh is that the BJP has a strong base in Jabalpur district and has won that seat for over two decades.
Jabalpur West used to be a stronghold of the Congress till 1990, but the BJP won three consecutive elections since then. The Congress managed to regain it in 2013. Therefore, political observes believe, the contest would be a close one.
However, what could be another challenge for Rakesh Singh is the anti-incumbency against his party’s government in Madhya Pradesh and the rift among the local leaders. Sources said that the supporters of three-time ex-MLA Harendra Singh ‘Babbu’ were upset and had staged protests after he was denied a ticket from the BJP this time.
‘Babbu’ hails from the Sikh community which has sizable population (around 20000 Sikh votes in Jabalpur West), which would be a deciding factor in the election.
Overall, the BJP and the Congress each hold four assembly seats within the eight assembly seats that make up the Jabalpur Lok Sabha constituency. Among the four urban seats, the Congress controls three, including Jabalpur (East), Jabalpur (West), and Jabalpur (Central-North), while Jabalpur (Cantt) is held by the BJP. Much like in most urban seats in Madhya Pradesh, the contest primarily unfolds between the BJP and the Congress, with no visible “third force.”
–IANS