Budhni
Before becoming the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan had won Budhni four times back to back. It is his home ground. He is Budhni’s favourite son. Will Budhni let him down?
Hoshangabad
It’s a teacher vs student contest, and this is how it unfolded. Sartaj Singh, a Sikh BJP leader in his seventies with a formidable support base in Hoshangabad, was denied a ticket. He switched to the Congress. Sitasharan Sharma, the Speaker, is the BJP candidate Singh fought. Sharma happens to be one of many that Singh had mentored. The contest is close here.
Bhopal (North)
The BJP’s only Muslim candidate, Fatima Siddiqui, contested from here. The seat was held by Arif Aqueel, the Congress’s only Muslim MLA in the outgoing Assembly. Fatima is the daughter of Rasool Ahmed Siddiqui, a former Congress state minister who was close to the Scindias. Arif, as a Janata Dal candidate in 1993, had split the Congress vote in Bhopal (North), leading to Rasool’s defeat. Is it a match to settle scores?
Congress big guns Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijaya Singh are not in the contest.