Election Focus: Key contest zones in Madhya Pradesh's electoral showdown

Bhopal: The primary contest in Madhya Pradesh's crucial Assembly election is between the Congress and the BJP. Several well-known figures from both parties are actively involved in the contest, including State Congress Chief Kamal Nath and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. 

Here's an overview of some of the significant battlegrounds that will influence the state's political climate: 

Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been nominated by his party to run for the Budhni Assembly seat. Actor Vikram Mastal has been selected by the Congress to oppose him. During the 2008 TV series ‘Ramayan 2’, the 40-year-old actor portrayed the character of Lord Hanuman. 

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath is contesting from his home turf in Chhindwara Assembly constituency against BJP's Vivek Bunty Sahu, former BJYM president for Chhindwara district.  

Kamal Nath defeated the BJP's Sahu in the Chhindwara by-elections in 2019 by a margin of 25,837 votes. Following the rebellion of Jyotiraditya Scindia, a party comrade, Kamal Nath's term as Chief Minister came to an end in March 2020, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Government returned to power in the state.
Jaivardhan Singh, the son of former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, is running from the Raghogarh constituency, his 'family's' stronghold. But now that Jyotiraditya Scindia has joined the BJP, things could get competitive. 

As the current Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Scindia has brought Hirendra Singh, also known as Bunty Banna, who is the son of Mool Singh, Digvijaya Singh's cousin, into the fold of the BJP. The BJP has nominated Bunty Banna to run against Jaivardhan Singh from Raghogarh. 

One of the party's heavyweights, BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, has been persuaded by the central leadership to contest in the State polls. He is running from the Indore-1 constituency. The former Indore mayor will face Congress candidate Sanjay Shukla. 

Despite Shukla's victory in the 2018 Assembly elections from Indore-1, the constituency has for long been a BJP bastion. 
Another prominent member of the BJP, Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel, was nominated from Narsingpur. Jalam Singh Patel, his brother, who had won twice from the same seat, has been replaced by the Union Minister. 

Lakhan Singh Patel, a candidate for the Congress, will face Prahlad Singh Patel in the Narsingpur constituency. In the 2018 Assembly elections, Lakhan was defeated by Jalam Singh Patel of the BJP. The Patel community-dominated town of Narsinghpur is a focal point in these elections. 

Narottam Mishra, the Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh, is running from the Datia seat. Mishra is pitted against Congress candidate Avdhesh Nayak, a former functionary of the RSS. Mishra, a two-term BJP MLA, secured 72,209 votes to defeat Bharti Rajendra of the Congress in the 2018 Assembly polls.
The BJP has selected Ambrish Sharma to run against Congress' Govind Singh in the Lahar Assembly constituency. Singh holds the record for the most wins from Lahar—seven in a row. The goal of the BJP is to penetrate this Congress stronghold. The state's vote count will take place on December 3. 
(With agency inputs)