BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan wins in Vidisha by huge margin of 8,21,408 votes

Former CM and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan won the Vidisha seat against Congress' Pratap Bhanu Sharma by 8,21,408 votes

Updated on: Jun 5, 2024, 09:40:58 IST

By HT News Desk

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Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a five-time MP and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, won in his sixth parliamentary electoral bid from the Vidisha constituency with a total of 11,16,460 votes, according to the Election Commission of India.

Chouhan’s rival for the seat was former Lok Sabha MP and veteran Congress leader, Pratap Bhanu Sharma, who lost by 8,21,408 votes.

The Vidisha constituency is considered Chouhan’s stronghold, where he secured victories in the 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2004 Lok Sabha elections. He has consistently faced off against Congress candidates in this constituency.

In 2005, the 65-year-old politician was appointed as the president of BJP’s Madhya Pradesh unit and was sworn in as Chief Minister the same year, a position he held until the 2023 state assembly elections, except for a brief 15-month period when the Congress took office after the 2018 elections.

The Lok Sabha constituency has also been represented by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in 2009 and 2014.

ALSO READ: HT interview: No fight in MP; sure Modi will be PM again, says Chouhan

Meanwhile, the grand old party has managed to win it only twice in 1980 and 1984 since 1967.

In the 2019 election, the Bharatiya Janata Party had fielded Ramakant Bhargava from Vidisha, who defeated Congress’ Shailendra Rameshchandra Patel with a voting margin of 40.24%.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, popularly known by the moniker ‘Mama’ (maternal uncle), joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is BJP’s ideological parent at the age of 13.

He served as the convenor and general secretary of the organisation’s student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

In 1988, he became the president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), and two years later, in 1990, he was elected to the Madhya Pradesh State Assembly from the Budhni constituency.

As Chief Minister in 2023, Shivraj led the BJP to another resounding victory in the Assembly elections, but the party’s central leadership replaced him with the low-profile Ujjain MLA Mohan Yadav to lead the state.

The Vidisha seat comprises eight Assembly segments, including Bhojpur, Sanchi, Silwani, Vidisha, Basoda, Budhni, Ichhawar, and Khategaon, and went to polls in phase 3 on May 7, recording a voter turnout of 70.35%.

The Lok Sabha polls for 543 seats were held in seven phases starting from April 19, with the last phase on June 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a rare third term at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.

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HT News Desk
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