Bharat Singh Kushwah Triumphs In BJP Stronghold Gwalior Lok Sabha Seat

In the Gwalior Lok Sabha constituency, BJP’s Bharat Singh Kushwah won the race with 6,71,535 votes, defeating his nearest rival and Congress candidate Praveen Pathak who secured 6,01,25 votes. The saffron party won the seat with a margin of 70,210 votes.

With Kushwah’s win, the BJP stronghold continues over the Gwalior seat. The Lok Sabha seat has witnessed the BJP candidates winning since 2007.

Bharat Singh Kushwaha is a two term MLA of Gwalior Rural Assembly constituency. The sitting MLA of Gwalior won the seat in 2013 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections by defeating Ram Sevak Singh of Congress with a margin of 11,938 votes. He also serves as Minister of State in the Ministry of Horticulture and Food Processing (Independent charge) of Madhya Pradesh.

Kushwaha is a known name in Gwalior. In 2018, BJP pitted Kushwaha against Congress’ Madan Kushwah, which led to the former retaining the seat.

Meanwhile, Congress placed its bets on Praveen Pathak, who is believed to be close to former Union Minister Suresh Pachauri. In the 2022 municipal elections, Pathak’s app called Pragaman, brought together local leaders and voters and, for the first time in five decades, Congress won a mayoral seat. Pathak was able to breach the saffron party’s fortress.

Congress won seven out of the 20 wards from its usual win of 2–3 wards. Pathak reached out to farmers, women self-help groups, businessmen, traders and caste influencers as part of a social integration programme.

Traditionally a bastion of the BJP and its previous versions such as Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and Hindu Mahasabha, the Gwalior (South) constituency is the birthplace of former BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. With a temple honouring Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse in Daulatgunj, the region is also the native of five of the founding members of the right-wing Hindutva organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).