The crucial Malwa-Nimad region is clearly in focus as Congress ex-president Rahul Gandhi will hold his first public meeting in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh in Kalapipal of Shajapur district on September 30.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who launched the Congress poll campaign in state at Jabalpur – the centre of Mahakoshal region - in June this year and held a public gathering in Gwalior in July, is also scheduled to take the poll campaign to the Malwa-Nimad region with a rally proposed in Mohankheda of Dhar district on October 5. This rally will mark the culmination of the seven simultaneous ‘Jan Aakrosh’ yatras being taken out in the poll-bound state by the Congress.
However, the proposed first visit of Rahul Gandhi to the state before elections is generating a lot of excitement for the Congress. MP Congress vice-president (organsiation), Rajeev Singh told media persons that Gandhi received a lot of affection from the people of the state during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in November last year. ‘Rahul Gandhi’s first visit to Shajapur will be decisive for the Madhya Pradesh polls,” Singh said. The Madhya Pradesh leg of BJY had passed through the Malwa-Nimad region too.
The Malwa-Nimad region includes as many as 91 seats of Indore, Ujjain and Bhopal divisions – making up for more than one-third of total 230 seats in the state. The BJP has had a traditional upper hand in the region as it had won 58 and 74 seats respectively in 2008 and 2013 polls. However, in the 2018 polls, the Congress shared equal pie in the region as each party bagged 44 seats each (three going to independents).
Therefore, both the parties are putting much focus on the crucial region and the BJP decision to field party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya from Indore-1 seat is also seen as a way to charge up the party workers. Vijayvargiya wields a huge influence in the region – especially Indore division.
Farmers in focus too
Kalapipal – the venue for Rahul Gandhi’s first visit - is famous for its agriculture produce market (mandi) and the Congress expects to see huge attendance of farmers in the proposed public meeting. Inclement weather – first long dry spell and then heavy rainfall – has damaged crops in many parts of Madhya Pradesh especially western MP where the soybean is the major cash crop. The Congress has already taken up the issues of farmers – demanding compensation for them - and seems to be in a mood to make this a big poll issue. Farmers’ issues had given Congress an upper hand in 2018 polls, too, as its major poll promise was farm loan waiver.
Modi in Chhattisgarh the same day
An interesting coincidence is in the play as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Bilaspur of Chhattisgarh on September 30 for the culmination programme of the ‘Parivartan Yatra’ being taken out by the local BJP unit.
On September 25, PM Modi was in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Rahul Gandhi was at Bilaspur at the same time to participate in a housing scheme launch programme of Chhattisgarh government.
Congress sources said that the matching schedule was not part of any strategy but a mere coincidence.
The Modi public gathering in Bilaspur is also being looked upon with interest as there is possibility that it might be followed by the release of the second list of BJP candidates in Chhattisgarh – on the line of Madhya Pradesh second list. Looking at the MP second list, there are speculations that the party might field its members of parliament in Chhattisgarh too for the Assembly polls.
