Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to launch the party's campaign for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections from Jabalpur on Monday. Prior to the campaign kick-off, she will begin with a prayer at the banks of the Narmada river, news agency PTI reported quoting a party spokesperson.
Jabalpur, located in the Mahakoshal region of the state, holds significance due to its substantial tribal voter population. In the previous Assembly polls held in 2018, the Congress secured victory in 11 out of the 13 Scheduled Tribe reserved seats in the eight-district division, while the Bharatiya Janata Party won the remaining two.
"On Saturday, Priyanka ji will commence the party's campaign, Sankalp 2023, by addressing a public gathering at Shahid Smarak around 11:15 am. She will arrive in Jabalpur at approximately 10:30 am and proceed to Gwarighat to offer prayers to the Narmada river," stated Jagat Bahadur Singh, the Mayor of Jabalpur and the city chief of the Congress, in an interview with PTI on Sunday.
According to PTI, Priyanka Gandhi will also pay homage to Rani Durgavati, who bravely fought against the Mughals and sacrificed her life. Singh added that the rally is expected to draw a crowd of at least two lakh people.
"We believe that people in the Mahakoshal area, specifically the Jabalpur division with its eight districts, feel neglected by the BJP. We performed well in this region during the previous elections, and this time we are confident of sweeping the polls," he claimed.
When asked about the choice of Jabalpur for the campaign launch, Vivek Tankha, a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh and a senior Supreme Court lawyer, explained that the rally is being held in Mahakoshal as Rahul Gandhi's previous Bharat Jodo Yatra did not cover this region.
"The rally in the Mahakoshal area will benefit the Congress in the neighbouring Vindh and Bundelkhand regions. Moreover, there is a strong anti-incumbency sentiment against the BJP government in Mahakoshal, and a significant portion of Congress's traditional tribal voter base resides in this region," Tankha said.
Madhya Pradesh is divided into six regions, namely Mahakoshal, Gwalior-Chambal, Central India, Nimar-Malwa, Vindh, and Bundelkhand. The Mahakoshal region, also known as Jabalpur division, comprises the districts of Jabalpur, Katni, Seoni, Narsinghpur, Balaghat, Mandla, Dindori, and Chhindwara, with a total of 38 Assembly seats.
In the previous Assembly elections, the Congress secured victory in 24 of these seats, while the BJP won 13. Additionally, one seat was won by an Independent candidate. However, in the 2013 polls, the BJP emerged victorious in 24 seats, leaving the Congress with only 13 wins.
The Congress's success in Mahakoshal during the 2018 elections enabled them to form a government in Madhya Pradesh, with Kamal Nath as the Chief Minister. However, the government collapsed in March 2020 when MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia defected to the BJP.
When contacted, Manish Gupta, the resident editor of Dainik Bhaskar's Jabalpur edition, highlighted that the party that performs well in at least three out of the six regions of Madhya Pradesh is likely to come to power.
"It will be a challenge for the Congress to retain its seats in the upcoming elections in the Mahakoshal region. Priyanka Gandhi's visit here aims to strengthen her party's position in Mahakoshal, which borders the Vindh and Bundelkhand regions," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
In the Vindh region, the BJP secured victory in 24 seats, while the Congress emerged victorious in only six constituencies during the 2018 Assembly elections. Similarly, in the impoverished Bundelkhand region, which consists of Sagar, Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Damoh, Niwadi, and Panna districts and comprises 26 seats, the BJP won 15 seats, the Congress secured nine, and the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party each won one seat in the 2018 polls.
The last Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections resulted in a hung Assembly, with the Congress emerging as the largest party with 114 seats in the 230-member House, while the BJP won 109 seats. Eventually, the Congress formed a coalition government under Kamal Nath's leadership.