Bhopal: Digvijay Singh vs. Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Two-time Congress CM of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh (72) will lock horns with three-time BJP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan (60) for the prestigious Bhopal Lok Sabha seat. It is slated to be a big fight between two giants of two of India’s leading political parties. There is more than political prestige at stake.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently lost the assembly elections and his Chief Ministership after serving as CM for three consecutive terms. He wants to drive home the point that he is still very much in control of state politics and is that party’s best bet to lead a resurgence in the state.
On the other hand, Digvijay Singh wants to prove he continues to have a major say in state politics. Digvijay Singh was a serious contender for Chief Ministership along with Jyotiraditya Scindia before Kamal Nath was selected to lead the state.
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh’s capital, is a prestigious seat so expect both parties to leave no stone unturned to ensure a dramatic win.
SP ties-up alliance with Nishad Party, Janwadi Party (Socialist) and Rashtriya Samata Dal
Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party has added three more parties to the alliance. SP is in alliance with BSP and RLD, and the addition of these three smaller parties will help further strengthen the alliance in the state.
Smaller parties may not win seats, but they hold a certain percentage of supporters in certain constituencies. In close contests, it’s these precious votes that stand between victory and defeat.
BJP releases list of star campaigners in U.P; Cong releases their list for Maharashtra
PM Modi will lead the list of star campaigners for the first two phases in Uttar Pradesh and will be joined by BJP party president Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and Uma Bharti, besides CM Yogi Adityanath among several others.
Prominent names missing from the list of star campaigners were those of party veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Both have been denied tickets and are reportedly unhappy with the developments.
Latest among star names to join the BJP is Jaya Prada who is likely to contest from Rampur against Azam Khan of SP. The other big name given a party ticket is young lawyer Tejaswi Surya (28) who will be contesting from Bangalore South, a stronghold seat held by the late BJP Union Minister Ananth Kumar.
Meanwhile, the Congress released their list of star campaigners for the first two phases in Maharashtra and includes Sonia Gandhi, party president Rahul Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sushil Shinde, and Mallikarjun Kharge among others.
Will Congress tie-up with AAP in Delhi?
It’s the big question doing the rounds of streets of Delhi and political analysts in equal measure. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been a deep critic of the Congress. In fact, it came to power on an anti-corruption plank against the Congress. In 2019, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP knows it will face a tough fight taking on both BJP and the Congress and is, therefore, seeking an alliance with the Congress. Local leaders of the state Congress party are divided on the tie-up, with former CM Sheila Dikshit opposing the alliance. Rahul Gandhi is expected to take a call shortly.
