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Gadarwara
Gadarwara is probably one constituency in the district that has in its time shown maximum tilt towards non-Congress parties, particularly the BJP.
Sitting MLA: Sadhna Sthapak (Congress)
Gadarwara is probably one constituency in the district that has in its time shown maximum tilt towards non-Congress parties, particularly the BJP. If one traces back the Assembly election trail till 1962, the seat was held initially by the Progressive Socialist Party candidate but then was wrested by Shymasundar Mushran in 1967.
In 1972, Harishankar Sthapak of Congress won the election from here, but after that, for a good 16 years, people returned BJP candidates from here. Starting with the 1977 Janata Party wave and finishing with the 1990 Saffron wash. Congress got the seat back in 1993 and is holding it currently.
With her non-controversial character, Sadhna Sthapak, the sitting Congress MLA has been repeated for the seat by the party. A repeat fight might be expected here as BJP is set to field Naresh Pathak, a candidate with considerable influence, from here. During last election, Sthapak had managed to beat this candidate by margin of less than 4000 votes and going by the anti-incumbency the sitting MLA might face a tough time in the constituency.
Moreover the BSP is also expected to make quite a difference in this constituency. A BSP candidate won a recent ward level bye-election in this constituency, leading to the worry creases deepening on the faces of both the parties. Since the winning margin was very thin, the Congress is certainly worrying and would require working especially hard to tide over the factor.