Canvassing yet to gather heat in Madhya Pradesh

MP goes to polls on May 5 and 10, but an unrelenting heat wave and the ongoing Simhastha Kumbha haven't let the poll fever catch up.

Elections are less than two weeks away, but electioneering has still to reach its usual din and excitement in Madhya Pradesh.

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The state goes to the polls on May 5 and 10, but an unrelenting heat wave and the ongoing Ujjain Simhastha Kumbha haven't really allowed parties to generate enough heat.

Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani's "Bharat Udaya Yatra" did pass through the state earlier this month, touching Chhindwara, Sagar, Narsinghpur, Gwalior and Morena, But poll activities since have remained largely subdued even as filing of nominations ended on Friday.

Around the same time as Advani, Congress President Sonia Gandhi hit the state during her road show, calling it a "mass contact programme". She interacted with people in Khandwa and Khargone in the crucial Nimar region as well as Chhindwara, where her party stalwart Kamal Nath faces BJP Union minister Prahlad Patel in a tough battle.