Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): As we head into phase 3 of the Lok Sabha elections on May 7, the focus now shifts to the Sagar constituency in Madhya Pradesh.
Here, it's a showdown between BJP's Lata Wankhede and INC's Gudu Raja Bundela, promising an exciting electoral contest.
Interestingly, for the first time, the saffron party has decided to field a woman candidate from the Sagar Lok Sabha constituency.
Guddu Raja, once a key figure in the BSP, held considerable sway within the party. Before the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections in 2023, he made a notable decision to join the Congress party, along with many supporters, referring to it as a "homecoming."
Sagar's Lok Sabha seat is an important part of Bundelkhand. Once a Congress turf, Sagar has turned into a BJP stronghold. Since 1996, BJP has been retaining the seat election-after-election.
What does the data say?
In the Sagar Lok Sabha constituency, the literacy rate stands at 53.09%. According to the 2011 Census, there are approximately 350,891 Scheduled Caste (SC) voters, making up about 22.3% of the electorate. On the other hand, the seat has 86,543 Scheduled Tribe (ST) voters, constituting approximately 5.5% of the total voters.
Regarding regional distribution, rural voters make up the majority, accounting for approximately 71% of the electorate, based on the 2011 Census.
For the 2019 Lok Sabha Election, the total number of voters in the Sagar constituency was recorded at 15.73 lakh.
Lok Sabha Elections 2019
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s Rajbahadur Singh won the seat by defeating Congress nominee Prabhu Singh Thakur by a margin of 3 lakh votes.
Lok Sabha Elections 2014
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Sagar constituency, Laxmi Narayan Yadav of the BJP emerged victorious with 4.8 lakh votes, securing a vote percentage of 54.11%. His closest competitor was Govind Singh Rajput of the INC, who garnered 361,843 votes, constituting 40.57% of the total votes.
What does the opinion poll say?
The India TV-CNX opinion poll shows BJP will sweep the central state, winning all 29 seats. The picture will be clear on June 4, when the counting starts.
