While the region houses four seats Guna, Gwalior, BhindSC and Morena - the last one, Morena, seems to be emerging as the hottest and toughest.
Spread across eight assembly segments in Morena and Sheopur districts bordering Rajasthan, Morena is famous for being the land of the sweet Gajak (sweet prepared with sesame and jaggery), the expanding Banmore Industrial Area, and the Kuno National Park (KNP), which is home to African cheetahs since September 2022.
The constituency, which houses around 20.04 lakh voters (10.70 lakh males, 9.34 lakh females and 24 third gender), has turned into a BJP citadel since 1996, with former Morena mayor Ashok Argal, infamous for being allegedly involved in the 2008 cash-for-votes scandal, winning the seat four times in a row between 1996 and 2004.
With the BSP too being a formidable player, the contest this time in Morena appears to be three-cornered, but as per political observers, the battle may ultimately boil down to the BJP and Congress. The BSP may largely play a spoiler for either of the two main parties.
Aiming to snatch the seat from the BJP, the Congress has fielded Satyapal Singh Neetu Sikarwar, the son of a BJP leader. The younger son of BJP veteran and two-time former BJP MLA from Morena Lok Sabha seat's Sumaoli assembly segment Gajraj Singh Sikarwar, the Congress candidate had won the seat in 2013 assembly polls on BJP ticket.
Neetu's elder brother Satish Sikawar, also a former BJP man who defected to the Congress in 2020, is the first-time Congress MLA from GwaliorEast seat, while Satish's wife Shobha Sikarwar is currently Congress' Gwalior mayor.
This story is from the May 02, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 02, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
FM Warns Retail Investors About Future & Options Mkt Risks
She assures Street about stability and majority of the next Modi govt
Kejriwal Should Be Called Corruption-Wal': Shivraj
ATTACKING the AAP, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday called Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "Corruption-wal" (corrupt man) and alleged that the latter has broken all records in corruption.
Weather Derivatives: A New Dawn In Risk Management
THE allure of weather derivatives financial instruments that allow businesses to hedge against the whims of Mother Nature is undeniable.
With German legend by his side, Anish thrives
ANISH Bhanwala is in a happy space at the moment. The proficient pistol shooter from the country has elevated his game in the last one year or so. That lift in confidence was evident during the ongoing Olympic Shooting Trials (OST) as he put up some rich scores to practically seal a spot in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol team for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Porel, Stubbs provide final push of the season for Delhi
DELHI Capitals signed off their league obligations with a 19run win against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.
Mystery of Neeraj’s guest’ show
Javelin ace, the reigning Olympic world champion, expected to compete on Wednesday
Airtel Q4 net profit falls to 2,072 cr on devaluation of Nigerian currency
BHARTI AIRTEL, country's second largest telecom service provider, reported a dip of 31.1% year-on-year (YoY) in its consolidated net profit to ₹2,072 crore for the March quarter of the financial year 2023-24.
Amazon invests 21,660 crore in India arm as competition rises In ecommerce space
AMAZON has infused ₹1,660 crore into its India entity and this is the second time that the company has invested money in the last few months.
Anushka and Virat-backed Go Digit to hit market today
ANUSHKA SHARMA and Virat Kohli-backed Go Digit is all set to launch its ₹2,600 crore initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday.
Pak accepts IMF line to privatise all public sector units
CASH-STRAPPED Pakistan will privatise all state-owned enterprises, including the lossmaking PIA, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Tuesday, broadening the government's initial plans to make only loss-making state firms private.