This commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh and region adjoining this sprawling state is witnessing a bitter battle with the single-phase election just a few days away. What is at stake in this Malwa-Nimar region is 66 seats spread over Indore and Ujjain divisions. Indore, once ruled by Holkar dynasty, is one city which has an IIM and IIT both and has been a very old and established business hub between Delhi and Mumbai.
High voltage campaigning from both main rivals — Congress and BJP — has moved into top gear with former PM Manmohan Singh lashing out at Modi government's all-round failure on the economic front, here on Wednesday. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi too had addressed meetings in Indore and Ujjain.
PM Modi had addressed a rally in Indore last week and now BJP supremo Amit Shah is coming once again to campaign for party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya's son Akash, who is contesting for the first time. BJP witnessed an unprecedented feud between Vijayvargiya faction and rest of the BJP in Indore over his son's ticket from constituency number 3 and finally party chief Amit Shah is reported to have intervened in favour of Akash. The party general secretary, a sitting MLA and former minister from Mhow in Indore district, is not contesting but is working hard for his son's prestigious fight against former MLA Ashwin Joshi (Congress).
Indore has sent Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to the Parliament for a record eighth term consecutively in 2014. She won her first election from here in 1989 defeating Congress stalwart PC Sethi, a former Union Home and Railways minister.
Malwa and Nimar region has been BJP's stronghold for a long time but Congress is aiming to make strategic inroads into tribal areas of Alirajpur, Badwani, Dhar and Jhabua, besides Indore city this time round with Jyotiraditya Scindia, a very popular leader in Malwa region, campaigning intensively.
But BJP leader Govind Malu, working in Khargone, said the party is all set to win more seats than last time due to solid organisational exercise done by the state unit of BJP. "The charm of Shivraj Singh continues to mesmerise people and farmers are fully supporting BJP due to government's welfare measure for them," he said.
In the 2013 elections, the BJP had fared extremely well bagging 57 seats out of a total of 66, spread over Ujjain, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Dewas, Shajapur (in Ujjain division) and Indore, Dhar, Jhabua, Barwani, Alirajpur, Khandwa and Khargone which has dominant presence of farmers. It was in Mandsaur that six farmers had been killed in police firing in 2017 during a protest and Shivraj Singh had to declare a never-before compensation amount of Rs one crore to each family of the slain farmers to buy peace.
Congress hopes to better its tally of nine seats (eight in Indore division and one in Ujjain) from the last performance. Between the last elections and this, a by-election to the Lok Sabha saw Kantilal Bhuria winning the Jhabua reserved seat for Congress. This had given the party a new lease of life, in addition to a current lot of angry farmers across these 12 districts. Congress and BJP both are facing dissidence in some measure or other in different assembly segments.
Congress city president of Indore Pramod Tandon exuded confidence that the party will surely improve its performance in the area as formidable candidates have been put up before the BJP contestants. He felt the traders and business community was passing through a very difficult time due to the faulty economic policies of the Modi government and the party hopes to cash in on the anti-BJP sentiments.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Shivraj Singh Chouhan")
)
Indore has sent Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to the Parliament for a record eighth term consecutively in 2014. She won her first election from here in 1989 defeating Congress stalwart PC Sethi, a former Union Home and Railways minister.)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}