2024 LS polls: Development, jobs key focus of parties in Madhya Pradesh; region-wise analysis

Bhopal: The BJP dominated all the six regions of Madhya Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when it won 28 out of the 29 parliamentary seats in the state and will seek to repeat its performance this time as well.

The saffron party will also try to wrest Chhindwara, the lone seat won by the Congress in the 2019 polls in the home turf of former chief minister Kamal Nath.

Development and issues pertaining to employment have been the key focus areas of the BJP and Congress in the six regions of the state.

The BJP has declared its candidates in all 29 seats, while the Congress has so far announced names of its candidates for 10 seats.

Out of the 29 seats, five are reserved for the Scheduled Tribe and four for Scheduled Caste candidates. In the 2019 polls, all these seats were won by the BJP.

The state broadly has six regions - Gwalior-Chambal, Central MP (Bhopal), Malwa-Nimar, Mahakoshal, Vindhya and Bundelkhand.

The Malwa-Nimar region has the highest number of eight Lok Sabha seats.

1. Gwalior-Chambal

This region, once known to be infested by dacoits, has now marked a leap towards development.

The BJP government last year sanctioned an expressway connecting it with Agra in Uttar Pradesh.

The arrival of cheetahs at the Kuno National Park in Sheopur district, as part of the government's ambitious project of reintroduction of these felines in the country, has also opened avenues for employment, especially in tourism and hospitality sectors, in the region.

Guna is one of the prominent Lok Sabha constituencies in the region from where the BJP has fielded Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who switched over to the saffron party from the Congress in March 2020.

The other seats in this region are Morena, Bhind (SC) and Gwalior.

2. Central Region (Bhopal)

This region comprises state capital Bhopal and its surrounding areas, including Narmadapuram.

Bhopal, popularly known as the city of lakes, is surrounded by world heritage sites - Sanchi and Bhimbetka rock shelters.

This region comprises five Lok Sabha seats - Bhopal, Vidisha, Rajgarh, Betul (ST) and Narmadapuram.

The BJP has this time dropped its sitting MP Pragya Singh Thakur from Bhopal and fielded former mayor Alok Sharma.

In Vidisha, the saffron party has fielded its senior leader and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has represented the seat in the past also.

Development and employment are among the major issues which impact the poll outcome in this region.

3. Malwa-Nimar

This region is dominated by agriculture activities and includes three major tribal areas of Khargone, Ratlam and Dhar.

Indore, the state's commercial capital which is also the cleanest in the country, major bullion trade centre Ratlam and the famous 'jyotirlings' of Ujjain and Omkareshwar fall under this region.

There are eight Lok Sabha seats in this region - Indore, Dewas (SC), Ujjain (SC), Mandsaur, Khandwa, Khargone (ST), Ratlam (ST) and Dhar (ST).

Issues pertaining to farmers, tribals, employment and migration of labourers are likely to dominate the poll campaign in this region.

The BJP has fielded its sitting MP Shankar Lalwani from Indore.

4. Bundelkhand

This impoverished region houses the famous Panna diamond mines, the world heritage site of Khajuraho and the Panna Tiger Reserve.

The sanctioning of the Ken-Betwa river linking project is a step aimed at addressing the problem of water scarcity in the region, especially irrigation facilities.

This region comprises four Lok Sabha seats - Sagar, Damoh, Tikamgarh (SC) and Khajuraho.

The BJP has given ticket to its sitting MP V D Sharma from Khajuraho for the second time and fielded Union minister Virendra Kumar from Tikamgarh.

5. Mahakoshal

This region is considered to be a stronghold of former CM Kamal Nath, whose son Nakul Nath is the sitting MP from the family's home turf Chhindwara.

Mahakoshal is spread across eight districts -- Jabalpur, Chhindwara, Katni, Seoni, Narsinghpur, Mandla, Dindori and Balaghat.

Local residents grumble over the backwardness in the region, saying Jabalpur was once far ahead of Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Nagpur (Maharashtra) in terms of development, but now the city lags behind Indore and Bhopal.

Mandla and Shahdol are tribal-dominated districts, while Balaghat is affected by Naxalism in this region.

The five Lok Sabha seats in this region are - Jabalpur, Mandla (ST), Shahdol (ST), Balaghat and Chhindwara.

The BJP has fielded sitting MP Faggan Singh Kulaste from Mandla.

The Congress has renominated Nakul Nath from Chhindwara, a seat represented nine times by his father Kamal Nath.

6. Vindhya

This region bordering Uttar Pradesh is spread across nine eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh - Rewa, Shahdol, Satna, Sidhi, Singrauli, Anuppur, Umaria, Maihar and Mauganj.

The region elected the first Lok Sabha member for the Bahujan Samaj Party from Madhya Pradesh in 1991 and had also given representation to Communists in electoral politics.

It comprises three Lok Sabha seats - Satna, Rewa and Sidhi.

Development and employment are among the key issues in this region.