Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Morena Lok Sabha constituency has again hogged the limelight after the six-time legislator of the Congress Ramniwas Rawat’s defection to the BJP. As the BJP felt it was on a sticky wicket in this constituency, they brought Rawat to the party. Despite Rawat’s defection, it is not going to be a smooth sailing for the party.
BJP candidate from this seat Shivmangal Singh Tomar is totally depending on Vidhan Sabha Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar. The voters also consider Shivmangal only an on-paper candidate. They know that the real candidate is Narendra Singh Tomar. Congress candidate Satyapal Sikarwar won the assembly election in 2013 on the BJP ticket. Rawat’s defection to the BJP has shocked Sikarwar. Several other Congress leaders may also weaken his prospects of winning the election. Internal squabbling may be a major issue for Sikarwar. In this constituency, the caste factor is more important than the candidates of both the parties. Ergo, both are making efforts to woo the voters of different castes. The number of SC voters is higher than that of other castes. There are 3.50 SC voters in this constituency. There are also Kshatriya, Brahmin, Rawat, Gurjar, Kirar, Dhakad, Lodhi, Muslim, and OBC voters.
Apart from Tomar and Sikarwar, Ramesh Garg of the BSP is contesting the election on the BSP ticket. Garg belongs to the trading community. Other than the votes of this community, he may also get the support of SC voters because of the BSP. Nevertheless, the votes that Garg will get may damage the BJP as well as the Congress. After Rawat’s defection, a rally addressed by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi seems to have added some strength to the party workers.
The Congress is trying to create an atmosphere in this constituency. As there is resentment among the public against Shivmangal, Narendra Singh Tomar is telling the public that they should vote for him in this election. Tomar is considered a fine election strategist. This is the reason why when Morena constituency was discussed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah he told the party leaders that Tomar would take care of everything.
Congress, BJP on equal footing in assembly seats
In the assembly election, the BJP won three seats and the Congress five. After Ram Niwas’s switchover to the BJP, it can be said that both the parties are on equal footing now. The Congress legislators represent Sheopur, Joura, Morena and Ambah seats. The BJP won Sumawali, Dimni and Sabalgarh constituencies. Rawat, who won the assembly election from Vijaypur assembly constituency, has joined the BJP. The Congress is looking stronger than its rival in Joura, Morena, Ambah and Sumawali assembly seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. The BJP is stronger than its rival in Sheopur, Vijaypur, Dimni and Sabalgarh assembly seats.
Strong seat for BJP
The BJP has always been strong in this Lok Sabha constituency. The Congress won this seat for the last time in 1991. Afterwards, the BJP has been winning this seat for the past 33 years.
