Madhya Pradesh Lok Sabha elections 2024: The first phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections will begin on April 19 (Friday) with 102 constituencies from 21 states and Union Territories to go for polling. At least six constituencies of Madhya Pradesh will vote in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, and a high-octane contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress is on the cards.
The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh is aiming to bag all the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the ensuing polls after its stunning victory in the assembly elections last year. The BJP would be making all-out efforts to snatch the Chhindwara seat, the only constituency it lost in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, according to observers, while Congress is desperate to regain its old charm.
Overall, Madhya Pradesh will vote in four phases in the parliamentary elections. Six constituencies - Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat, Chhindwara - will go for voting today. Here's a list of the constituencies and the candidates who will face off on Friday.
List of MP constituencies and candidates
Sidhi: Dr Rajesh Mishra from the BJP will compete against Kamleshwar Kumar Patel in the Sidhi constituency. Riti Pathak (BJP) won the 2019 contest, defeating Congress' Ajay Arjun Singh by a margin of 286,524 votes.
Shahdol: Himadri Singh, the incumbent MP from the northeastern Shahdol constituency, will face Phundelal Singh Marko from the Congress. Singh emerged victorious over Pramila Singh (Congress) with a massive 4 lakh vote margin in 2019.
Jabalpur: Ashish Dubey from the BJP will face off against Dinesh Yadav from the Congress. Rakesh Singh has been the sitting MP from the Jabalpur constituency since 2004, having defeated Vivek Krishna Tankha in 2019 with a huge margin of 454,744 votes.
Mandla: Faggan Singh Kulaste, the incumbent BJP MP from the Mandla constituency, will compete again against Omkar Singh Markam from the Congress. Kulaste defeated Kamal Singh Maravi from the Congress by a margin of 98,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, but faced defeat in last year's assembly elections.
Balaghat: Bharti Pardhi from the BJP is facing Samrat Saraswat from the Congress this year in Balaghat. BJP's Dr Dhal Singh Bisen won the 2019 Lok Sabha election from this constituency, defeating Congress' Madhu Bhagat by a margin of 242,066 votes.
Chhindwara: One of the key contests of the first phase will take place here today, where former CM Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath is competing against BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu. Nakul won the seat in 2019, defeating BJP's Nathan Shah by 37,536 seats. This was the only seat Congress won in the last Lok Sabha elections.
How do the parties fare?
In the previous Lok Sabha elections, the BJP swept the state by winning 28 out of the 29 constituencies. India TV-CNX conducted an opinion poll to gauge the mood of voters and predict which party will have an edge in the forthcoming general elections. The poll showed that BJP is likely to win all 29 seats in the Lok Sabha Elections in Madhya Pradesh.
There is a strong possibility that Sahu may defeat Congress' Nakul Nath in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara, which was the only seat that went in the Congress' favour. The General Elections 2024 for the 18th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases, starting from April 19. The results will be declared on June 1.
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