LS polls 2019: Stage set for Jyotiraditya Scindia vs Kailash Vijayvargiya battle in BJP’s Indore?

If at all there is a Scindia Vs Vijayvargiya battle on May 19 in Indore, then Scindia’s wife Priyadarshini Raje could be fielded as the Congress candidate from Guna seat.
Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. (File | PTI)
Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. (File | PTI)

BHOPAL: Five days after eight-time sitting BJP MP and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced she won’t contest the general elections, the Indore constituency of Madhya Pradesh could witnesses a clash of titans.

Speculations are rife among the BJP circles in Bhopal and Indore about party’s national general secretary and former MP minister Kailash Vijayvargiya being among the frontrunners as the saffron party’s candidate from the seat which has been BJP and Sumitra Mahajan’s bastion since 1989.

With possibility of Vijayvargiya contesting from Indore constituency, election planners in Congress are seriously thinking about fielding four-time MP from Guna seat and former union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia from the seat which houses over one lakh Marathi speaking voters, a senior Congress leader in Bhopal told The New Indian Express on Wednesday.

If at all there is a Scindia Vs Vijayvargiya battle on May 19 in Indore, then Scindia’s wife Priyadarshini Raje could be fielded as the Congress candidate from Guna seat.

While the BJP is yet to decide candidates for eight seats, the Congress hasn’t finalized candidates for seven seats of the 29-seats strong MP. Both the parties are yet to announce candidates for Indore.

Sources within the BJP confided that though Vijayvargiya is a serious contender for being fielded as BJP candidate from Indore (from where he has represented three different assembly seats as well as has been the city’s mayor in the past), it remains to be seen whether he actually gets the party’s nod for it as he is presently busy with party poll campaign in crucial West Bengal. Also, with his son Aakash already having won from Indore-III assembly constituency in 2018 polls, the party might field someone else.

 Kailash Vijayvargiya | Twitter
 Kailash Vijayvargiya | Twitter

Possibility of Congress fielding Scindia from Indore if Vijayvargiya contests from there are strong particularly as Indore has sizeable number of Marathi speaking voters, who are considered the prime force behind Sumitra Mahajan’s eight consecutive triumphs between 1989 and 2014.

The Congress insiders feel that if Vijayvargiya is fielded from Indore, then Mahajan might not whole heartedly campaign for him (as both the leaders represent different camps of BJP in Indore) owing to which the Marathi speaking voters might consider backing Scindia, who too is Marathi speaking.

Importantly, Scindia and Vijayvargiya haven’t contested parliamentary or assembly polls against each other in the past, but Vijayvargiya has twice lost to Scindia by significant margin in the elections for chairman of Indore-headquartered Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) in 2010 and 2012.

Other names in the race for BJP ticket in Indore, include present mayor and Indore-IV MLA Malini Gaud, Indore Development Authority (IDA) chief Shankar Lalwani (who is believed to have Mahajan’s backing) and ex-MLA from Dhar district’s Badnawar seat Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat.

Contenders for Congress ticket in Indore, also include MP cabinet minister Jeetu Patwari, ex-MLA Satyanarayan Patel and senior leader Pankaj Sanghavi. 

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