Lok Sabha election 2024: 3 political stalwarts Shivraj, Scindia, and Digvijaya contesting in third phase

In the third phase of voting for the Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh, 3 political stalwarts--Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, former state chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Digvijaya Singh are in the fray.

BJP veteran and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is contesting from Vidisha constituency, a saffron fortress which he had represented five times in Lok Sabha in the past, after almost 17 years, facing Congress candidate Pratap Bhanu Sharma.

In Rajgarh, Congress veteran and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh, 77, seeks to reclaim the lost legacy, marking his return to the Lok Sabha electoral contest after more than 30 years. His challenger is two-time BJP MP Rodmal Nagar.

Digvijaya Singh won from Rajgarh in 1984 and 1991 but lost in 1989. He became the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in 1993.

In 2019, Scindia, who was then the Congress candidate, lost the Scindia family bastion to BJP's KP Yadav.
At stake is the political future of BJP leader and Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, seeking to reclaim the home turf Guna which he lost in 2019 when he was in Congress.

In high-stake Guna, where votes of the Yadav community can tilt the scales, Scindia is facing Yadvendra Singh Yadav of Congress.

The BJP is hoping for a clean sweep in Madhya Pradesh, which sends 29 members to Lok Sabha. In 2019, the BJP failed to win the Chhindwara constituency, the only saving grace for the Congress which managed to retain it on the charisma of party veteran Kamal Nath. His son Nakul Nath won the seat last time.

Of the total 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, polling for 12 seats concluded in two phases on April 19 and 26. The remaining eight seats will go to polls in the fourth phase on May 13.

Voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm on May 7 across 20,456 polling stations, including 1,043 to be entirely managed by women, an official said.

"All necessary measures have been taken and adequate security arrangements are made to conduct free and fair elections in these constituencies," Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Madhya Pradesh, Anupam Rajan, told reporters on Monday.

(with PTI inputs)