As soon as the Election Commission, announced on 16 March that Jabalpur would vote on 19 April, in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the battle lines were drawn in this historic town in Madhya Pradesh.
Jabalpur consists of eight Legislative Assembly segments — Patan, Bargi, Jabalpur Purba (SC), Jabalpur Uttar, Jabalpur Cantonment, Jabalpur Paschim, Panagar, and Sihora (ST).
Situated on the banks of the mighty Narmada, Jabalpur, often regarded as the cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh, has played a pivotal role in the political landscape of India.
Jabalpur was a Congress bastion since the first elections held in 1957. The winds of change swept in during the 1996 elections when the constituency favoured the Bharatiya Janata Party. It has been a BJP bastion since then with the party not losing an election in 28 years.
Rakesh Singh an OBC leader has been winning the seat, consistently since 2004. In 2009 Rakesh Singh defeated Congress candidate Advocate Rameshwar Neekhra by 106,003 votes. He repeated the feat in 2014, doubling his victory margin and defeated Vivek Krishna Tankha of the Congress by 208,639 votes. In the last general elections, the BJP secured about 65% of the votes.
Rakesh Singh is credited with the modernisation of Jabalpur. He will however not be contesting the 2024 elections. Asish Dubey is the BJP’s candidate from Jabalpur for the 2024 general elections. Active in politics for more than three decades, Dubey has a clean image and the support of party stalwarts.
Dinesh Yadav is the face of the Indian National Congress in the BJP stronghold of Jabalpur. Yadav has launched a unique campaign where is canvassing door to door, not only for votes but also for notes- any small amount from Rs 10 to Rs 100, to fund his political campaign.
Will the BJP with a new leader on ground retain Jabalpur? One will know on 4 June .
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
