Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The election date is just less than a week from now, and many people are staking their claim on victory and defeat of candidates, particularly belonging to the BJP and the Congress. At the same time, the candidates are also pulling out all the stops to win their seats.
Nevertheless, there are only a few leaders of the BJP and the Congress who never lost an election. Most of the eminent politicians suffered defeat.
Those who are in the saddle of electioneering this time have lost elections. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, MPCC president Kamal Nath, former chief Digvijaya Singh, Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste have submitted to their rivals in the battle of ballots.
Only two leaders, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Gopal Bhargava, have been in politics for a long time, but they never lost an election.
Vijayvargiya was elected for the first time in 1990 from Indore 4 constituency. He also won three elections from Indore 2 and two from Mhow.
Instead of contesting the 2018 election, he fielded his son, Akash Vijayvargiya, from Indore 3 constituency, and Akash, too, won the election.
Digvijaya defeated Shivraj
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan lost election because of BJP’s strategy. Chouhan who had been winning Vidhan and Lok Sabha elections was pitted against former chief minister Digvijaya Singh from Raghogarh in 2003. He lost the election.
Chouhan may have lost the election, but he confined Digvijaya within the peripheries of Raghogarh, and, in the process, helped the BJP to form a government in the state.
Kamal Nath lost to Patwa
Current MPCC president, who was continuously winning from Chhindwara, lost a by-election there in 1997. Because his name figured in the infamous Hawala case, he was not given a ticket in 1996. Nath fielded his wife Alka Nath who won the election.
After getting a clean chit in Hawala case, Nath asked his wife to resign, and when the seat fell vacant, he fought the by-election in 1997. Former chief minister of the BJP Sunderlal Patwa was fielded against Nath who lost the election for conducting the by-poll by exerting pressure, but, in the 1998 Lok Sabha election, Nath defeated Patwa.
Digvijaya, too, lost election
Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh lost elections twice. In 1989 Lok Sabha elections, BJP leader Pyarelal Khandelwal defeated him in Rajgarh constituency.
Afterwards, Singh who continued to win elections lost to Pragya Thakur who contested Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency in 2019. When Singh fought the election from Bhopal, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha.
It is said that Singh was not willing to contest the election, but he threw his hat in the ring because of Kamal Nath’s requests.
Jyotiraditya Scindia lost to his former assistant
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia lost an election for the first time in 2019. Guna Lok Sabha constituency is considered the family bastion of the Scindias. His old assistant KP Yadav defeated him in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Scindia’s defeat was a turning point in Indian politics. After the loss, he was so depressed that he left the Congress and switched over to the BJP.
Narendra Singh Tomar lost Vidhan Sabha polls
Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar lost Vidhan Sabha election from Gwalior in 1993. In this election, there was an atmosphere in favour of the Congress, and most of the BP leaders lost.
Congress leader Raghuveer Singh defeated Tomar by a margin of 681 votes. Afterwards, Tomar was elected twice from this area. Tomar also contested assembly elections from Morena and Gwalior, and is contesting state polls after a long time.
Kamal Nath defeated Prahlad
Kamal Nath defeated Union Minister of State Prahlad Patel who was fielded from Chhindwara in 2004. Patel won the Lok Sabha election from Balaghat and Damoh constituencies. The BJP fielded him from Chhindwara in 2004. Although the BJP won 25 Lok Sabha seats out of 29 in the state, Patel lost the election. After this defeat, Patel had to struggle for a long time to remain relevant in politics.
