The Congress faces an uphill battle in retaining the only seat it holds in Madhya Pradesh in the outgoing Lok Sabha.

Incumbent MP Nakul isn’t a patch on his father, former chief minister Kamal Nath, in terms of popularity. His challenger Vivek Bunty Sahu has tied Nath Sr down to campaigning in the seat. The BJP, however, is accused of neglecting several public infrastructure projects started during Nath’s term as chief minister.

The Congress has won Chhindwara since the first polls in 1952, save a by-election in 1997 when the BJP won. Since 1980, the seat has been represented by Nath — who became chief minister in 2018, only for defections to bring the BJP back in power in 2020 — or his kin.

The Naths’ loyalties are under a cloud of suspicion because of whispers about them wanting to defect to the BJP. Nath’s former lieutenants, ex-minister Deepak Saxena and Chhindwara mayor Vikram Ahike, have switched to the BJP.

Despite the Congress retaining all seven Assembly segments amid the BJP wave last year, one of the MLAs defected to the BJP. The senior Congress leadership has not campaigned in the constituency so far.

“Where can Kamal Nath go? Everything he has is in the Congress,” Sourabh Yadav, a student at Danielson Degree College here, said.

Kamal Nath shows his inked finger after casting his vote in Chhindwara on Friday. PTI picture

“His supporters are leaving him because the party is in decline, but people will vote for his son because of the work he has done. If the BJP comes, there will be trouble as there is already tension within neighbourhoods between Bunty Sahu’s boys and Congress families,” added Sourabh, who — like many other youths — did not want to be photographed for fear of being “misunderstood” by friends.

Although top BJP leaders have campaigned here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not. The welfare schemes of the BJP governments at the Centre and state are a formidable alternative to the Naths’ “Chhindwara model” of political patronage that ensured that the seat remained more developed than its neighbours for almost half a century.

Jaynarayan Suryavanshi, a farmer in Sarasdol Mal in Amarwara tehsil, said: “Hailstones destroyed most of my wheat crop last night. But I am not worried as the government now gives us compensation within two months. Many in our village have got Rs 2.5 lakh under the PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana).

“Almost every home now gets allowances for women and farmers. Kamal Nath did good things but we have not seen his son. The wind is in favour of the BJP.”

State ministers Kailash Vijayvargiya and Prahlad Patel are camping here and, sources say, have been wielding influence to wean away the main donors to the Congress in the seat. Nath has made an emotional pitch to voters, saying Chhindwara “is my life”, after chief minister Mohan Yadav called him an “outsider”.

Chinesh Singare of nearby Kopakheda village has seen the good life but has come back. “I was an electrician in an auto parts company in Bengaluru for three months in 2022 with a salary of Rs 14,000 a month. I came back because I began to miss our (Gond tribal) way of life and our forests after my grandmother passed away,” Singare said.

“Here I earn Rs 400 a day when I find work. Under the Modi sarkar, the cost of living has gone up, welfare schemes are not enough, and forests are being cut. We need jobs, which the Congress brought before and can still do if it returns to power.”

Chhindwara voted on Friday