Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): As the Lok Sabha elections move towards phase 3, scheduled for May 7, the spotlight now falls on Guna constituency in Madhya Pradesh. The fight here is between the royal BJP leader and a strong grass-root Congress candidate.
Jyotiraditya Scindia will give a contest against Congress' Rao Yadvendra Singh here, making Guna one of the high-profile constituencies in Madhya Pradesh.
Will Maharaj win his home turf back?
Guna is Scindia's home turf. Scindia won the seat in 2004, 2009, and 2014. He has been winning the seat for the last two decades on a Congress ticket, barring the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when his rival and BJP leader KP Singh defeated him by 1.25 lakh votes.
This will be the first time Scindia will be fighting Guna as a BJP leader.
On the other hand, Rao Yadavendra Singh, who hails from Ashok Nagar district, was earlier affiliated with the BJP, as his late father, Deshraj Singh Yadav, was a member of the saffron party.
He joined the Congress prior to the 2023 assembly elections.
Singh is serving as a district panchayat member, which makes him a popular face on the ground among the people.
What does the data say?
2019 Lok Sabha
In the 2019 elections, Scindia conceded defeat in Guna, which had been his constituency for four terms and a stronghold of his family. He faced a defeat by a margin of 1,25,549 votes by the BJP's Krishna Pal (KP) Singh Yadav.
The contest between Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rao Yadvendra Singh is expected to be intense. Both candidates are campaigning hard to win over voters in Guna. As election day approaches, people are eager to see who will come out on top in Guna.
2014 Lok Sabha Election
In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the contest in Guna constituency was between Scindia of Congress and Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya of the BJP. Jyotiraditya Scindia won by 1.27 lakh votes.
Number Of Voters:
In Guna Lok Sabha constituency, the literacy rate stands at 53.09%. As per the 2011 Census data, SC voters constitute approximately 3.14 lakh (18.7%), while ST voters amount to 97k (5.8%).
Region-wise distribution shows that 81.4% of voters reside in rural areas, with 18.6% in urban regions.
Based on the 2019 Lok Sabha Election, the total number of voters in Guna constituency is recorded at 16.8 lakh.
What does opinion polls say?
Guna Lok Sabha seat is mainly driven by caste factor, with Yadav community playing an important role here. Even in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Yadav community's bumper voting led to BJP candidate KP Singh Yadav's victory.
Although some opinion polls give all 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh to BJP, Guna seat might witness a tough fight.
