Former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan leading by over 5.4 lakh votes from Vidisha

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken a commanding lead of 5.40 lakh votes against Congress candidate Pratap Bhanu Sharma in Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency in the state.

Vidisha is stated to be a strong bastion of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but four-time chief minister Chouhan was campaigning fiercely with his schemes including Ladli Laxmi and Ladli Behna introduced during his tenure. He is fighting against Sharma whom he had defeated in 1991 in a Lok Sabha by-election.

Chouhan won five times from Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency before becoming chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in 2005. After he was replaced by Mohan Yadav as the CM in December 2023, Chouhan was looking for a new role in the party. He was given a ticket from Vidisha to contest Lok Sabha election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also said that he wanted to take Chouhan to Delhi.

Meanwhile, Congress fielded 77-year-old Pratap Bhanu Sharma, who won twice from Vidisha in 1980 and 1984.

Chouhan had said that he was campaigning to increase the winning margin while Sharma, who was seen absent from the ground, was claiming to win due to poor development of Vidisha.

In 2019, BJP’s Ramakant Patel had defeated Congress candidate Shailendra Patel by over 5 lakhs votes.