By Neeraj Mishra

The Congress has misplaced Chhindwara solely as soon as since Independence when the wily Sunderlal Patwa was despatched there by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to check Kamal Nath’s maintain on the constituency. Patwa gained the 1997 by-election by a slim margin within the backdrop of Nath having pressured his spouse to first contest and later vacate the seat for him. Nath, nonetheless, returned to his profitable methods the very subsequent 12 months and has gained the seat 9 instances.

It appears attainable that Chhindwara, the lone surviving Congress seat, shall be misplaced once more this time and could also be without end. A day forward of polling, the city was drowned in saffron. Not a lot the impact of vigorous campaigning by Vivek Sahu of the BJP however the Ram Navami competition which introduced out saffron flags on each rooftop.  The impact is prone to final because the polling is as we speak. At 77, Nath is unlikely to contest one other election right here and his son Nakul looks as if a pale shadow of his father unable to even make a forceful speech. The times of operating Chhindwara from Shikarpur kothi are gone.

Nath’s closest allies in his close to 50-year reign—Deepak Saxena and Kamlesh Shah—have abandoned him. His native group of corporators has additionally determined to leap ship leaving a gaping gap in Nath’s marketing campaign path. Nakul had gained by a margin of 37,000 votes in 2019 and the most important lead had come from Kamlesh’s Amarwada Meeting section. With Saxena in charge of Chhindwara and compelled to point out his energy in his new celebration, it’s extremely possible that Nakul is not going to be relying on these segments. As a substitute, the Congress marketing campaign was targeted on Pandhurna, Parasia and Chaurai.

Amit Shah was within the area a few days in the past and warned all BJP employees—outdated and new—towards lethargy. His message was clear, the BJP needs all 29 seats this time. Cupboard Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya is camped right here and utilizing all his political acumen for the specified outcomes. One such tactic was to raid the Shikarpur Kothi of Kamal Nath for his assistant Miglani who handles nearly the whole lot for him. With Miglani quickly neutralised, BJP is greatest positioned to repeat its win in Chhindwara in 1997.

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