Indore: Die Has Been Cast On Most Seats

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): While BJP has announced tickets on six out of nine Assembly seats in Indore district, Congress is sitting idle for reason best known to powers that be. This is despite the fact that candidature of five candidates are clear as they don’t face competition.

Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kamal Nath will release the first list during Navratri, party sources said though brainstorming on the names is still on. “Decision on some of seats in Indore will be taken at the last moment as the party has panel of strong candidates in seats like Indore-V and Mhow,” Congress leaders said.

The party has cleared the names of sitting MLAs and is unwilling to take chance by changing their seats. Congress had won four out of nine seats in 2018 elections but had lost Sanwer after Tulsi Silawat switched over to BJP and won the bypoll as well. Though Congress leaders have put their claims before party high command, picture will be clear after October 15.

Indore-1 Candidate: Sanjay Shukla

The Assembly constituency has become a prestigious issue for BJP but it has also given wrinkles on head of Congress leaders who were counting seat in their bag till national BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was not fielded by the saffron party. Sanjay Shukla had penetrated BJP bastion and snatched the seat after 15 years by defeating BJP’s Sudarshan Gupta with a margin of 8,163 votes.

Indore-2 Candidate: Chintu Choukse

It is BJP's strong hold as BJP is winning the seat for 30 years. Kailash Vijayvargiya had snatched the seat from Congress leader Suresh Seth in 1993 and remained MLA for 15 years. Later, Ramesh Mendola followed suit for 15 years unabated. Mendola had defeated Congress party's Mohan Sengar with record 71,011 votes in 2018. However, Chintu Choukse tasted success in municipal elections. Choukse is the Leader of Opposition in IMC and the only strong candidate for the ticket from the seat.

Indore-3 Candidate: Deepak Joshi ‘Pintu’/ArvindBagdi

Indore-3 was the traditional seat for Congress as Ashwin Joshi had won three back-to-back elections from 1998 to 2008. BJP’s Usha Thakur broke his winning streak in 2013 and later Akash Vijayavargiya secured the seat by defeating Joshi by 5751 votes. In this election, Deepak Joshi ‘Pintu’ is the frontrunner in the race even though his cousin brother Ashwin Joshi has also staked claim. Arvind Bagdi too is claiming ticket from this seat. Party sources said that senior party leaders rejected Ashwin's claim to give chance to new face.

Indore-4 Candidate: Akshay Kanti Bam/Raja

Mandhwani BJP has remained invincible in Indore-IV in last 33 years as Kailash Vijayavargiya put the seat in party’s bag in 1990 by defeating Congress. Since 1993, Laxman Singh Gaud remained MLA for 15 years before his demise. His wife Malini Gaud continued winning streak for next 15 years. In 2018, Gaud defeated Congress party's Surjeet Singh Chaddha by 49,090 votes. This time, Congress party's Akshay Kanti Bam and Raja Mandhwani have claimed ticket. Akshay who owns a law college represents Jain community while Mandhwani is sailing on support of Sindhi community, which has a sizeable population.

Indore-5 Candidate: Satyanarayan Patel/Swapnil Kothari

Selecting a candidate from this seat has become a toughest decision for the party in the state as Satyanarayan Patel and Swapnil Kothari are strong candidates and enjoy support of Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath respectively. In 2018, Patel lost election to Mahendra Hardia with margin of 1,132 votes. Hardia had snatched the seat from Patel in 2003 and won four elections back-to-back.

Rau

Candidate: Jitu Patwari

Jitu Patwari is the sitting MLA from Rau who defeated BJP's Madhu Verma by 5703 votes in 2018. Patwari has a strong hold in Rau and holds influence in nearby seats like Mhow. Earlier, party leaders had considered fielding Patwari from other seat but as BJP announced Madhu Verma's name two months ahead of the voting, Congress is not willing to take any chance from Rau.

Depalpur

Candidate: Vishal Patel

Sitting MLA Vishal Patel had destroyed BJP bastion in Depalpur by defeating Manoj Patel by 9,044 votes in 2018. BJP has fielded Manoj Patel again from Depalpur after which it will be Vishal versus Manoj on the seat, this time again.

Sanwer

Candidate: Reena Bourasi

Setiya/Bunty Rathore Sanwer seat was won by Congress in 2018 but after Tulsi Silawat switched over to BJP in 2020 and also won bypoll on BJP’s ticket, the seat fell in BJP's bag. This time, daughter of senior Congress leader Reena Bourasi Setiya has asked for ticket on the basis of her hold among youths and support of her father. She is a frontrunner but Bunty Rathore is also in the race having supporters in Malviya community votes.

Mhow

Candidate: Antar Singh

Darbar, Kailash Dutt Pandey, Sadashiv Yadav, Ram Kishore Shukla Mhow became BJP's bastion after Kailash Vijayavargiya snatched seat from Antar Singh Darbar. In 2018, Usha Thakur defeated Darbar by 7,157 votes. This time, Congress has a panel of names including Antar Singh Darbar, Kailash Dutt Pandey, Sadashiv Yadav, Ram Kishore Shukla and Yogesh Yadav.

Darbar has claimed ticket on the basis of his experience and for contesting election in odd conditions. He enjoys support of Thakur community. Pandey strengthened his claim for ticket on the basis of his experience in Cantonment and hold on Brahmin votes. District Congress president Sadashiv Yadav has demanded ticket for his hold in rural areas. Ram Kishore Shukla, who has returned to Congress from BJP after 15 years, has claimed ticket on the basis of his experience, popularity and support of Brahmins. State Seva Dal president Yogesh Yadav is also seeking ticket from the seat.