Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Five-time BJP MLA and Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, who won the last Assembly election from Harda constituency by a close margin, is likely to face a tougher contest this time as the opposition Congress is preparing special plan to corner the senior saffron leader.
The Congress is in process to prepare special strategies for the 66 Assembly seats, which it has repeatedly lost in the last three to four elections consecutively.
In the six Assembly elections in Harda constituency -- since 1993, the Congress could win only one election in 2013, while BJP won five elections, including the last in 2018.
Kamal Patel, who started his political career with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and was inducted in the state BJP executive committee in 1989, has contested as many as six Assembly elections since 1993 and won five of them, except in 2013. Interestingly, Patel had lost in 2013 against Congress' Ramkishor Donge by around 6,000 votes, but won in 2018 with almost a similar margin.
Therefore, the Congress is working to put a dent on those 6,000 voters, who have been the deciding factor in the last three to four elections in Harda. Sources told IANS that the Congress has planned to utilise two strategies -- sentiment of the local farmers against the ruling BJP and high anti-incumbency of nearly two-decade rule of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
However, the opposition has to fight within itself to reduce internal conflict of local party leaders in Harda, as a local Congress leader claimed that the groupism was the main reason Ramkishor Donge lost in 2018 despite having a strong resentment against Patel among the voters.
"Internal conflict to establish himself as a leader was the main reason for Congress' loss in the last election. The situation appears almost the same this time also, but top leadership is working on it," said a Harda-based Congress worker.
It has also learned that the state leadership may field a new candidate against the agriculture minister. At least two- three fresh ticket aspirants are in the race. Young female advocate Avani Bansal, who had grabbed headlines during 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is one such aspirant. Educated from Oxford and Harvard Universities, Avani Bansal is also the legal aid coordinator of All India Mahila Congress.
She was among those 11 women who walked with Rahul Gandhi from Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir. It was Avani, who had set up a mobile library with a collection of about 1,000 books for 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' participants. As the elections are just five months away from now, Avani has been actively raising local issues to corner sitting BJP Kamal Patel.
Notably, Kamal Patel is also in-charge of Chhindwara -- bastion of veteran Congress leader and state unit chief Kamal Nath. For the last two-three elections, the vote share between BJP and the Congress has a minor difference. For instance, in 2013, Congress had secured a win with a total 48 per cent votes against BJP's 45.18 per cent. Similarly, in 2018, the BJP's Kamal Patel won the election after securing 49 per cent votes against Congress' 45.19 per cent.
