Madhya Pradesh Elections 2023 Chhindwara Assembly: Kamal Nath takes early lead against BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu in Congress stronghold?

Madhya Pradesh Elections 2023: Congress State President Kamal Nath is leading with over 15,000 votes in the Chhindwara district against the BJP’s candidate Vivek Bunty Sahu as per early trends.

Chhindwara constituency is one of the key seats to watch out for in the state elections this year. While Budhni is a BJP stronghold, which is home to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chhindwara is the home turf of senior Congress leader and former union minister Kamal Nath.

Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency has seven assembly segments. These include Junnardeo, Amarwara, Chaurai, Sausar, Chhindwara, Parasia and Pandhurna.

Chhindwara constituency has a total voter base of 2,81,676 people and has more women voters than men. The assembly seat has 1,40,674 male voters as against 1,41,002 women voters. The literacy rate is 81.46 per cent.

During the November 17 polls in Madhya Pradesh, the total percentage of voters in the Chhindwara Assembly Constituency was recorded at 81.77 per cent.

At present, in the 230-member assembly, the BJP holds 127 seats and the Congress party 96. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) holds two seats, the Samajwadi Party (SP) one, and the Independents hold four seats.

Top candidates 2023

Nath had been the MP from Chhindwara for nearly 40 years before he won the Chhindwara Assembly seat in a by-poll in 2019 to become the chief minister. Nath is contesting from his home turf against the BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu, former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president for Chhindwara district.

This year, Nath has campaigned as a 'Hanuman Bhakt' and has strongly criticised Shivraj Chouhan's government and raised issues such as crimes against tribals.

Nath has been wooing Hindu preachers like Bagheshwar Baba and was accused of playing the 'soft Hindutva' card. He also got a 102-ft statue of Hanuman installed in the constituency.

In comparison, BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu has pitched himself as a 'Shiv Bhakt'. He unveiled an 84-foot-tall idol of Lord Shiva in Chhindwara before starting his election campaign.

Both parties have tried to woo the women voters in the constituency, especially BJP.  Sahu has majorly highlighted CM Chouhan's Ladli Behna Yojana. Whereas, Congress has highlighted the corruption cases at the grassroots level. 

Assembly Election Result 2018
In 2018, Congress leader Deepak Saxena won the Chhindwara constituency in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections 2018, securing 1,04, 034 votes as against 89,487 votes for Choudhary Chandrabhan Singh Kuber Singh of BJP. Saxena won with a narrow margin of 14,547 votes.

 

Exit polls

Most exit polls on November 30 have predicted BJP having an edge over Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan despite a neck-to-neck fight in MP.

Following the exit poll results, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said: "I have been saying from the beginning and also during the campaign that PM Modi affection and leadership, Amit Shah's strategy, JP Nadda's leadership and the hard work of party workers and the schemes of the state government will result in a huge victory for the BJP."

On the other hand, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh says, "Exit poll results are very diverse. We cannot say anything about it. I can assure you that the Congress will get more than 130 seats in Madhya Pradesh."

Also read: Election Result 2023 Live: BJP marches ahead in MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan; Vasundhara Raje leads in Jhalrapatan

Also read: Budhni Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election Result 2023: Shivraj Singh Chouhan clears his path, takes lead as per early trends against Congress' Vikram Mastal