BJP Nominates Sitting MP Dnyaneshwar Patil For Khandwa Seat Amid Race For Ticket (Photo on X Gyaneshwar Patil BJP @GyaneshwarBJP)

Dnyaneshwar Patil, the sitting MP from the Khandwa Lok Sabha constituency was given another chance to contest when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Mr Patil got his first ticket in the 2021 by-election in the constituency following the demise of the then incumbent Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan. Mr Patil in the by-election defeated the Congress candidate by a margin of more than 82000 votes. Notably, the majority of Mr Patil in the by-election was three times less than his precedent during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The constituency consists of eight assembly segments including three general, four ST and one SC seats. Around 48 per cent of the votes across all the eight assembly segments are from the OBC category. It is learnt Mr Patil’s OBC background prompted the party to consider him for his second nomination despite his relatively lower performance in 2021. The seat has seen both Congress and BJP influence in its history. Yet the saffron party has gained an edge during the last two decades.

According to reports, the constituency has seen a race for tickets this time with the names of many leaders surfacing for the nomination. Despite opposition from many, the BJP has picked the sitting MP who has been in politics since his studenthood. Though he was an emerging leader in the party, the factionalism after the by-election and during the assembly election in 2023 turned many leaders against Mr Patil. However, this time, he will have overcome both the challenges of Congress and his opponents in the party. Many in the party had hoped for the ticket that includes the sitting MP Dnyaneshwar Patil, BJP District President Sevadas Patel, General Secretary Rajesh Tiwari, former MLA Devendra Verma, former Mayor Subhash Kothari, former District President Rajpal Singh Tomar, Minister of State Narendra Singh Tomar, Hindu leaders Ashok Paliwal, Mangal Yadav, Amar Yadav

Congress is yet to announce its candidate for the constituency and the party has big OBC faces in the field including the former MP Arun Yadav.  As the BJP trusted Mr Patil disappointing many other faces, the fight could be more intense this time.