Tikamgarh Constituency: BJP Aims For A Comfortable Fourth Win (image:twitter.com/ECISVEEP/)Tikamgarh Lok Sabha Constituency is a hotspot in Madhya Pradesh’s political landscape. It is one of the 29 Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh state, which came into existence in 2008 as a part of the implementation of the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. Tikamgarh consists of eight assembly constituencies.
The Tikamgarh parliament seat is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC). Presently, Dr Virendra Kumar Ghatik, BJP leader and union cabinet minister for social justice and empowerment of India, is the elected member from the constituency. As an MP, he has been representing the constituency since 2009. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he had a clear lead of more than three lakh votes over Congress candidate Pankaj Ahirwar.
The main contenders for the seat are the BJP and Congress. In the upcoming elections, while the sitting MP Virendra Kumar Ghatik is aiming for a fourth win, Congress rival Pankaj Ahirwar is attempting once again to wrest the presidency from the former’s hands.
As per 2011 Census, the number of voters belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) category in the Tikamgarh constituency is estimated to be around 385,379, accounting for approximately 23.6% of the total population. On the other hand, the Scheduled Tribe (ST) voters in the same constituency are approximately 73,483, making up around 4.5% of the population. Additionally, the Muslim voters in the Tikamgarh (SC) parliament constituency are approximately 57,039, which represents approximately 3.5% of the total voters, as per the analysis of the voter list.
BJP leader Virendra Kumar Karthik holds significant influence among the scheduled castes due to his modest lifestyle and close connection with the grassroots level of society. However, in the 2023 assembly elections, Yadavendra Singh (Jagga Bhaiya) from the Congress maintained a lead of 9118 votes over BJP candidate Rakesh Giri in the Tikamgarh assembly constituency. This outcome came as a huge shock to the BJP, considering their clear majority in the same constituency during the previous general elections. As the election date draws closer, the political landscape in Tikamgarh is heating up, with candidates focusing on key issues affecting the constituency and making promises to address the concerns of the electorate.
The Election Commission of India has announced that the Tikamgarh Lok Sabha constituency election 2024 is scheduled for April 26 (Phase 2). The counting of votes and results will be announced on June 4.
(This story is part of a Timeline. internship project.)