Madhya Pradesh Phase 3 Lok Sabha Elections: Voting for 8 seats on May 7; Key constituencies

On May 7, voting will occur for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections across 94 constituencies. This phase includes eight Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh: Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Vidisha, Bhopal, and Rajgarh.

On the same day, several other states and Union territories will also vote in the Lok Sabha elections. This includes Assam (4 constituencies), Bihar (5 constituencies), Chhattisgarh (7 constituencies), Goa (2 constituencies), Gujarat (26 constituencies), Karnataka (14 constituencies), Maharashtra (11 constituencies), Uttar Pradesh (10 constituencies), West Bengal (4 constituencies), Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (2 constituencies), and Jammu & Kashmir (1 constituency).

The Hindi heartland, currently governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), contributes 29 members to the Lok Sabha. In the first phase, six seats were contested, including Chhindwara, Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, and Balaghat. The second phase saw seven seats voting on April 26, including Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa, Hoshangabad, and Betul.

Check out the key constituencies and candidates here:

Guna: 

In the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on May 7, Guna constituency in Madhya Pradesh is set for an intriguing battle. It has long been a stronghold for the Scindia family. The BJP has nominated Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to contest from Guna against Congress' Rao Yadavendra Singh Yadav. Scindia previously represented Guna as a Congress leader from 2002 until his defeat in 2019. After joining the BJP in 2020, he aims for another term from Guna. The Scindia legacy in Guna dates back to 1957 when Vijaya Raje Scindia first represented the seat. Her son, Madhavrao Scindia, won from Guna in 1971 as a Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader and later as an Independent in 1977. He continued to hold the seat in 1980 as a Congress leader.

Vidisha:

 

Vidisha, another significant constituency in Madhya Pradesh, is currently represented by BJP's Ramakant Bhargava. The 2024 election gains attention with the return of former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan to his stronghold of Vidisha. Chouhan, known as 'mamaji', has been elected five times from Vidisha. He is competing against Congress leader Pratap Bhanu Sharma in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Former external affairs minister late Sushma Swaraj also won from this prestigious seat in the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Rajgarh:

In the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has nominated senior leader Digvijaya Singh to contest from Rajgarh against the incumbent Rodmal Nagar of the BJP. In the 2019 elections, Nagar defeated Congress' Mona Sustani by over 4.3 lakh votes. Digvijaya Singh, who served as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for two terms, is returning to contest from Rajgarh after over 30 years, adding an interesting dimension to the race. His brother Lakshman Singh also represented the seat five times, once as a BJP candidate, winning between 2004 and 2009.

Bhopal:

 

The Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency includes the entire Bhopal district and part of Sehore district. It is currently represented by BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur, also known as Sadhvi Pragya. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Thakur defeated senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh by a margin of over 3.64 lakh votes. However, for the upcoming election, the BJP has chosen to field Alok Sharma instead of Thakur, who is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Former Madhya Pradesh CM Uma Bharti previously won the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat in 1999.

Morena:

 

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP's Narendra Singh Tomar won against Congress leader Ramnivas Rawat by over 1.13 lakh votes. However, this time, the BJP has nominated Shivmangal Singh Tomar to contest against Congress' Satyapal Singh Sikarwar. Narendra Singh Tomar has previously won from the seat in 2009. The BJP has held the Morena Lok Sabha constituency since Ashok Argal's victory in 1996. Argal himself represented Morena four times - in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2004.