Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections 2023 Key Candidates List: From Kailash Vijayvargiya to Narendra Singh Tomar, Know Names of High-Profile BJP Nominees

Ujjain, September 26: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is going all out for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023 by fielding several Union ministers and MPs. The list includes the likes of Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Singh Patel and Phaggan Singh Kulaste. The party has also named BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya as its candidate for the MP assembly polls.

After suffering the poll debacle in 2018, the BJP is eyeing to retain the state with a full majority. Earlier Monday, PM Narendra Modi visited the poll-bound state to kickstart the BJP's election campaign. PM Modi addressed a gathering of BJP workers, 'Karyakarta Mahakumb' in Bhopal, where he tored into the Congress. The Prime Minister also warned the Congress would push Madhya Pradesh back into the 'BIMARU' (laggard) category of states if given an opportunity to rule again. Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023: BJP Keeps Race for CM’s Post Open for Upcoming Vidhan Sabha Polls by Naming Seven Heavyweight Candidates in Second List.

Key BJP Candidates and Their Constituencies

Narendra Singh Tomar

Narendra Singh Tomar is currently serving as Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare of India. Tomar has been fielded from the Dimani constituency for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023. Tomar will contest the Vidhan Sabha elections after two decades. He last won the assembly polls from Gwalior for the second time in a row in 2003. Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023: BJP Announces Second List of 39 Candidates, Check Candidate Names and Their Constituencies.

Kailash Vijayvargiya

BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has been fielded from Indore-1 seat. He, however, said that he did not want to contest elections but was given directions by the senior party leaders. Sanjay Shukla of the Congress snatched the Indore-1 seat in 2018. By naming Vijayvargiya as its candidate, the BJP is hopeful of claiming the assembly seat.

Prahlad Singh Patel

The Jal Shakti minister, Prahlad Singh Patel, will be contesting from the Narsingpur seat in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023. The 63-year-old leader represents the Lodhi Rajput community.

Lalita Yadav

The BJP has given a ticket to a former minister, Lalita Yadav, from Chhatarpur. The party has kept faith in Yadav despite her electoral defeat in 2018 to Alok Chaturvedi of Congress.

Faggan Singh Kulaste

BJP has fielded Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste from the Niwas seat. Kulaste is currently the MoS for Steel.

Ganesh Singh

Four-time MP from Satna seat Ganesh Singh has been fielded from his current seat in the upcoming MP polls. Singh enjoys a stronghold in the region as he has been elected 4 times from the Satna constituency.

Riti Pathak

Two-time sitting MP Riti Pathak from Sidhi Lok Sabha seat has been given a ticket for the Sishi assembly seat. After a major uproar over the Sidhi urination case, BJP replaced veteran leader four-time sitting MLA Kedarnath Shukla, whose supporter was involved in the incident. By naming Pathak, the BJP seems to have tried to bring down the resentment among the tribals.

Rakesh Singh

BJP is fielding four-time Jabalpur MP Rakesh Singh will contest from Jabalpur-West in the upcoming state polls. Rakesh Singh has been representing the Jabalpur constituency of Madhya Pradesh since the 2004 general elections.

Imarti Devi

Imarti Devi will enter the electoral fray from Darba constituency on a BJP ticket. A strong Dalit leader, Imarti Devi served as Minister of Women and Child Development in the Madhya Pradesh Government, first in Kamal Nath's Congress government from December 2018 to March 2020 and later under Shivraj Chauhan's BJP government from July 2020 to November 2020.

Hirendra Singh

Hirendra Singh has been given a ticket from the Raghogarh seat. A Scindia loyalist, Singh too switched boats in 2020. It must be noted that Raghogarh's seat is a stronghold of former MP CM Digvijay Singh. Currently, Singh's son Jaivardhan is an MLA from the Raghogarh constituency in the Guna district.

In the 2018 polls, the BJP lost in Madhya Pradesh, winning only 109 seats. However, it clawed back to office in Bhopal, taking advantage of dissension in Congress and its precarious majority. Jyotiraditya Scindia and his supporters broke away from Congress, causing a major rift within the party.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2023 11:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).