Outside Ashoknagar railway station in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna, ‘Lodhi Chai Wala’ stall resembles a news channel studio. The tin-roofed ‘tapri’ and the adjoining cigarette-pan masala shop is surrounded by posters and hoardings of union minister and BJP candidate Jyotiraditya Scindia. Ask the customers and shop owners if the Lok Sabha elections are one-sided and an intense debate begins.
A passerby, Harvir, stops to declare: “‘Chunav bilkul ek tarfa hai… sab Modi ji ke liye hain. Jo tax dene mein ghabrate thay, jinko Modi ne pakad liya, woh bas dhikkar rahe hain. Nahin to shehar mein, ladies mein, sab mein Modi Modi’ (It is a one-sided election in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Only those who have been arrested for tax evasion are criticising him, otherwise all sections support Modi).”
Gokul, who owns the cigarette shop, feels the Congress should have fielded a better candidate. “‘Chunav ek tarfa nahin hai. Agar Congress se koi bada chehra aa jaata toh woh jeet sakte thay’ (It is not a one-sided election. Had the Congress fielded a big face, it had a chance),” he said.
Driver Golu Rai, however, insisted that the elections in Guna will not be about personalities but issues. “We have no water supply in Ashoknagar, roads are not wide enough and farmers are reeling from debt; these will be election issues this time,” he said.
Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s campaign reminds people of the Gwalior airport built in no time during his term. He has also promised better air connectivity for the people of Guna. But, some local residents want better railway infrastructure.
“‘Hawai patti banayi unhone; airport ka kisan kya karega? Aam aadmi ke liye toh train badhaye, usmein general compartments badhaye’ (What will a farmer do with the airport? We are farmers who need water for irrigation, electricity to run machines; we need more trains, more general compartments). Trains that come here only have two general compartments and get packed to capacity in no time,” said a local resident, Vivek Rai.
But, he added: “‘Modi ji toh pradhan mantri banenge’ (Modi will become the prime minister).”
Ashoknagar is the home turf of Congress candidate Rao Yadvendra Singh Yadav, a BJP worker who joined the Congress before the 2023 assembly election and lost. His late father, Deshraj Singh Yadav, was a BJP MLA who had taken on Scindia.
Political analysts said the Congress fielded Yadvendra hoping to cash in on his family’s influence in and around Ashoknagar, while the ‘Yadav factor’ may prove beneficial. Party workers pointed out that former Scindia aide KP Singh Yadav, who defeated the minister in 2019, gained Yadav support in this constituency.
Rajpal Singh, a businessman, rejected caste-based political math. “‘Humara desh vikas shiksha se payega, jaati se nahin. Shiksha, swasthya, bijli, sadak; yeh mudde hain, jaati nahin’ (Our country will progress through better education, health, electricity and roads, not from caste-based politics),” he said.
Guna is one of the biggest Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh with eight assembly segments – Shivpuri, Pichhore, Kolaras, Bamori, Guna, Ashoknagar, Chanderi and Mungaoli. The BJP won five of these in the recently concluded assembly polls.
At Shivpuri market, BJP supporters said the tally will get better in the Lok Sabha polls. Asked if their vote will be for Modi or ‘Maharaj’, as Scindia is popularly known, the opinion is divided.
“Under Modi ji’s rule, everything is going well. So many steps have been taken for the safety and security of women. The rule of law has returned, ration is being delivered on time,” said Prem, who owns a sweet shop.
His customer Hari Om disagreed. “‘Yahan Modi ji ka kya hai. Sab to Maharaj ka hi hai’ (Nothing here is Modi’s, everything belongs to Maharaj),” he said.
Asked if ‘Maharaj’ is so popular, then what went wrong in 2019, he said: “Last time, perhaps, some mistakes were made. People felt he was inaccessible. But, this time, it is him all the way,” he said.
A student, Pushpendra, chimed in: “Scindia got us a medcial, engineering colleges here. Look at this road, he made them better. He was a union minister in the UPA and had many responsibilities; so, perhaps people felt that he was unable to give them time as their MP. But, now he has come to the right party. The BJP ‘karyakartas’ here will ensure he wins by three to five lakh votes,” he said.
At public meetings, it is this “double engine” that Scindia is underlining for Guna voters. His campaign song – ‘Modi ji ki guarantee aur Scindia ki mehnat’ – is a hit. At the Kachhaua village in Pichore, News18 spotted local residents dancing with the minister to the tune of the campaign song.
Holding the white ‘kamal’ (lotus bud) in hand, Scindia reminds people of all the schemes – from free ration to the PM Awas Yojana – that the Modi-led central government has ensured. Even the MP government’s ‘Ladli Behna Yojana’ finds a mention.
At Pichhore’s busy chowk, unemployment and Guna’s development are the talking points. “Development is the biggest election issue, but the BJP will benefit from the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya,” said a young voter, Satpal Raghuvanshi.
While some complained that ‘Maharaj’ is too distant for them to raise their issues, women voters in Pichhore cut them short. “We got money under the Ladli Behna Yojana. Safety and security is better now. What more do we want? We are happy with the current regime,” said a group of three women before rushing to catch a bus from Pichhore’s main chowk.
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
