Durga Das Uikey Gets Nominated Again By BJP In His Sitting Seat Betul

Born in 1963 in Mirapur, Betul, the sitting MP from Madhya Pradesh’s Betul constituency Durga Das Uikey will contest his second election as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gave another ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Mr Durga Das is a retired well-known teacher who completed his MA and B.Ed. and has been in politics for years.

Known popularly as a teacher among locals, Mr Durga Das has been a high school teacher from 1989 to 2019. He was also part of several social activities and campaigns such as afforestation, de-addiction campaigns, social harmony, integration and eradication of malpractices.

A school teacher and RSS leader, the 55-year-old Durga Das had been associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) since 1987. He has extensive organisational and political experience gained over years holding several responsibilities. He served as the District Khandwa General Secretary of The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) from 1995 to 1998. Other positions held by the BJP leader include District Panchayat President East Nimar Khandwa from 2000 to 2005 and State BJP Kisan Morcha State Vice President from 2012 to 2014.

The Betul constituency is a scheduled tribe seat with a 68 per cent literacy rate. The constituency has been a fortress of the BJP for decades. In his electoral debut, Mr Durga Das won the seat with a historic margin of more than three lakh votes. His electoral performance surpassed the vote shares of his predecessors, making his chance for another ticket stronger.

Before 1991, the seat had been predominantly with the Congress party and the party is still maintaining a competitive vote share in Betul. However, the candidate of the grand old party is yet to be released.