Congress fields big leaders in Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath's son Nakul to contest from Chhindwara

BHOPAL: AICC on Thursday afternoon announced the names of 12 more candidates for Lok Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh. Earlier last month, it had announced the names of nine candidates including Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal.
The new list released on Thursday has named Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath from Chhindwara, a Lok Sabha constituency represented by the chief minister for ten terms since 1980.The other prominent candidates fielded are former Union minister Arun Yadav from Khandwa, former leader of opposition Ajay Singh from Sidhi and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha from Jabalpur.
Though there are no major surprises in the list of 12, it still affirms that the Congress is not going to give the BJP and its leaders an easy run this general election. Congress election committee has ensured that not just Digvijaya Singh, but more senior leaders are locked in battles against rival party giants.
Eminent lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha has been pitted from Jabalpur against state BJP president and three times MP Rakesh Singh. Vivek Tankha was one of those Congress leaders who led the legal fight against the former Shivraj Singh Chouhan BJP government on alleged Vyapam scam alongside KTS Tulsi and Kapil Sibal.
In Khandwa, former Union minister and two-time MP Arun Yadav has been fielded against five-time MP, Nandkumar Singh Chouhan aka Nandu Bhaiyya. Arun Yadav was state Congress president from January 2014 to April 2018 and Nandkumar Singh Chouhan was state president of BJP for two terms from 2014 to 2017. This will also be the third contest between the two former state party presidents. In 2009, Arun Yadav defeated Nandkumar Singh Chauhan by approximately 50,000 votes while in 2014 Chauhan defeated Yadav by a margin of 2,59,000 votes.
Former leader of opposition Ajay Singh will contest from Sidhi against BJP’s one-time MP Riti Pathak. Sidhi was last won by the Congress in a general election in 1991 and then in 2007 in a by-poll. Ajay Singh lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Satna against BJP’s Ganesh Singh by a margin of 8,688 votes – the slimmest defeat of the last Lok Sabha election. But this time, he has been shifted to Sidhi while party has fielded state Congress senior vice-president Raja Ram Tripathi from Satna.
Folk singer Prahlad Singh Tipaniya has been fielded from Dewas. Tipaniya is a Padma Shree who performs Kabir bhajans. In Khargone, Congress candidate is a radiologist and practicing doctor Govind Muzaalda who is into social work. State Congress leaders claimed both Tipaniya and Muzaalda are people’s choice.