The political battleground in Madhya Pradesh's Badnawar assembly constituency, nestled within the Dhar district, is set to witness a high-stakes duel as two formidable arch-rivals, who have swapped party allegiances, face off for the third consecutive time.
Locals are abuzz with a catchy phrase, "Ummeedwar wahi, par party nayi," signifying the persistence of the same candidate in a new party.
The crux of the contest revolves around BJP leader and State Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion Minister, Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon (51), who is pitted against Congress candidate, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (72). Both candidates hail from the Rajput community and are locking horns in the upcoming state assembly polls scheduled for November 17.
Apart from the Rajput community, tribal and Patidar voters also wield considerable influence in shaping the electoral outcome in this constituency, boasting nearly 2.21 lakh voters.
Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon, known for his proximity to Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, was one of the 22 rebel MLAs who defected from the Congress, resigning from their assembly posts in 2020 to join the BJP following Scindia's switch to the saffron party. This defection led to the fall of the then Kamal Nath government, propelling the BJP back to power in the state under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
On the flip side, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat recently exited the BJP on September 2 and found a new home in the opposition Congress. He is now the Congress candidate challenging the BJP's Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon in Badnawar.
Dattigaon shared his perspective, saying, "Shekhawat, originally from Indore, is campaigning in the Badnawar area, but he was conspicuously absent during the massive COVID-19 outbreak and didn't extend his regards to the local people. After my departure from the Congress, they couldn't even find a suitable local candidate to contest from Badnawar. This sheds light on the state of affairs in the grand old party."
In the 2013 assembly elections, Shekhawat secured the Badnawar seat as a BJP candidate, defeating the then Congress candidate Dattigaon by 9,812 votes. However, in the 2018 assembly polls, Dattigaon turned the tables, triumphing over Shekhawat by a substantial margin of 41,506 votes.
Rejecting the "local versus outsider" election narrative in Badnawar, Congress candidate Shekhawat stated, "I may be relatively new in my current party, but the Badnawar area has been my old workplace."
Taking a dig at the ruling party, he asserted, "The BJP has abandoned its original principles, deviating from its foundational values. It can go to any lengths to secure power, now resembling a mere marketplace stall in a local market."
In contrast, Shekhawat is pledging that if he clinches victory, he will facilitate the distribution of Narmada river water to the region through pipeline construction and will finalize pending development projects, especially in tribal areas, which remained incomplete during his previous term as a BJP MLA (2013-2018).
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