Satna MP Ganesh Singh on a sticky wicket, BSP plays spoilsport
Lok Sabha and a surprise defeat in the November 2023 Madhya Pradesh assembly election, BJP MP from Satna Ganesh Singh is in a tough contest yet again. The Congress has fielded Siddarth Kushwaha “Dabbu”, the leader who defeated him in the state polls just four months ago, as its candidate, while a Brahmin candidate from the BSP is also likely to wean away some voters.
Singh is among the BJP MPs who were fielded by the party in the Madhya Pradesh assembly election. He lost by 4,041 votes to Kushwaha but has been given the ticket again for the Lok Sabha polls. Both Singh, a Kurmi leader, and Kushwaha are from the backward castes, which have a sizable presence in the constituency.
Satna Lok Sabha also has a substantial Brahmin population and the way it votes can prove decisive in this election. While the BJP is hopeful that the Ayodhya Ram temple issue would sway the Brahmin voters to its side, BSP candidate Narayan Tripathi may play the spoiler. In the 2023 assembly election, the BSP fielded Shiv Ratnakar Chaturvedi, making it a triangular fight. Chaturvedi polled 33,567 votes, which ensured Singh’s defeat. Narayan Tripathi is in a similar role in the Lok Sabha polls.
Satna Lok Sabha constituency has seven assembly seats – Satna, Chitrakoot, Maihar, Nagod, Raigaon (SC), Amarpatan and Rampur-Baghelan. Of these, the Congress had won Satna and Amarpatan in the 2023 assembly polls. The MLAs from Chitrakoot (Nilanshu Chaturvedi) and Maihar (Srikant Chaturvedi) are Brahmins while three seats – Nagod (Nagendra Singh),
