Congress relies on Pankaj Ahirwar from Tikamgarh Lok Sabha constituency of Madhya Pradesh. He will be contesting against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s sitting MP Virendra Khatik. The 42-year-old Ahirwar will face a strict competition, as he is competing against the 70-year-old Khatik, who had been an MP for seven times and Union Minister twice.
He said despite being elected from Tikamgarh for three consecutive times, and has not made any effort to beat the unemployment rate, and added that if the public lends him a chance this time, providing employment will be his first priority.
However, Pankaj Ahirwar will have to sweat a bit to secure the seat. Despite having over 5 lakh Ahirwar voters in Tikamgarh, Congress’ Ahirwar candidates have been losing the elections for the past three times.
The Tikamgarh Lok Sabha constituency is reserved for Scheduled Caste category. Since then Virendra Kumar Khatik has been BJP’s trusted resort in gaining vote. Congress has tried several times by fielding different Ahirwar’s to gain the community’s vote but it was fruitless.
During the 2009 election, the grand old party has fielded Vrindavan Ahirwar, in 2024, it gave ticket to Kamlesh Ahirwar, and in 2019, the party fielded Kiren Ahirwar. All the three Ahirwars lost to Virendra Kumar Khatik. Now it’s Pankaj Ahorwar’s call to win the Constituency.
It will not be easy for Pankaj Ahirwar, since last year, Khatik has garnered nearly double the vote than Congress’Kiran Ahirwar. Khatik won with a margin of 3,48,059 votes.