Madhya Pradesh: Campaigning ends for nine LS seats

Campaigning in nine Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, where senior Congress leader and Union Minister Kamal Nath, former Union Minister and BJP leader Faggan Singh Kulaste and state Congress leader Ajay Singh are in the fray among others, ended this evening.

These constituencies -- Satna, Rewa, Sidhi, Shahdol (ST), Jabalpur, Mandla (ST), Balaghat, Chhindwara and Hoshangabad -- are going to the polls in the first phase on April 10.

The second and third phase of polling will be held in the state on April 17 (10 seats) and April 24 (10 seats).

Union Minister Kamal Nath is contesting for the ninth time from Chhindwara, where he had won for the first time in 1980. BJP has fielded local MLA Choudhary Chandrabhan Singh against him.

Churhat MLA Ajay Singh, a veteran Congressman and the son of the late Arjun Singh, is contesting from Satna against sitting BJP MP Ganesh Singh. In neighbouring Sidhi, Congress has fielded former minister Indrajit Patel against BJP's Riti Pathak.

In Rewa, Congress has fielded MLA Sunderlal Tiwari against BJP's Janardhan Mishra, while BSP has given ticket to the sitting MP Deoraj Singh Patel.

In Jabalpur, former Advocate General and noted lawyer Vivek Tankha of Congress is pitted against sitting BJP MP Rakesh Singh, while in Hoshangabad, BJP has given ticket to Rao Uday Pratap Singh who resigned from Congress as an MP to join BJP during the last Assembly elections.

Congress has fielded former district panchayat chairman Devendra Patel from Hoshangabad, who quit BJP to join Congress.