The Lok Sabha seats of Mahakoshal region have different political flavours. Chhindwara is the seat from where son of chief minister is contesting, Jabalpur is the seat from where state BJP president is contesting, Balaghat seat has turned into four-corner contest while there is no wave in Mandla seat.
Click here for latest updates on Lok Sabha Elections 2019
The region has 31 Vidhan Sabha assembly seats and in the recent elections, the Congress party had outstaged BJP. Most seats were won by Congress. One independent candidate had also won. Local factors appear more important than Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national Congress party president Rahul Gandhi.
Chhindwara
Nakul Nath is contesting from here. LS constituency has seven assembly seats, which Congress won. The BJP has given ticket to Nathan Shah, a tribal. The seat has been a Congress bastion since 1957. The only time party lost to BJP was in 1997 by-election when BJP candidate and former state chief minister Sunder Lal Patna had won. Kamal Nath is contesting election since 1980. His wife Alka Nath won the seat in 1996.
Mandla
Mandla is a ST-reserved seat from where sitting MP Faggan Singh Kulaste is contesting on BJP ticket. He had contested election for six times from 1996 to 2014. He lost in 2009 to Congress candidate Basori Singh Markam. This time, Congress has given ticket to Kamal Maravi, a fresh face. In 2018 assembly elections, Congress won six seats and BJP had to satisfy with the two seats.
Jabalpur
It is a BJP bastion since 1996. Sitting MP Rakesh Singh who is contesting from here has represented seat for three times. The Congress party has given ticket to sitting Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha. In 2014, Singh defeated Tankha with huge margin. In last assembly elections, BJP and Congress won one four seats each.
Balaghat
It faces quadrangular contest between BJP candidate Dhal Singh Bisen, Congress candidate Madhu Bhagat, SP-BSP candidate and ex-MP Kankar Munjare and sitting BJP MP Bodh Singh Bhagat contesting as an independent. The BJP rebel candidate may spoil BJP’s chances. In the recent assembly elections, out of eight seats four were won by Congress. Three were won by BJP and one was won by independent candidate.
