Bhopal, March 28 (IANS): With the Congress on Wednesday fielding veteran Pratap Bhanu Sharma against BJP stalwart and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the electoral contest in the high-profile Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency will be watched closely.

Pratap Bhanu Sharma (77), an old-time mechanical engineer and a seasoned Congress politician, has won two Lok Sabha elections from his home district Vidisha, in 1980 and 1984.

Political pundits claimed Pratap Bhanu Sharma was close to former Prime Minister, late Rajiv Gandhi.

Pratap Bhanu Sharma has not contested any election for the last few years, however, he has been discharging duties for the party in various roles, including as incharge of Rewa District during the last Assembly election held in November last year.

Interestingly, Pratap Bhanu Sharma, who is contesting Lok Sabha elections after a gap of almost 40 years, will take on the BJP’s most popular leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is also fighting the general elections after a gap of nearly two decades.

Before becoming the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in 2005, Shivraj Singh Chouhan had won the Vidisha constituency five times in a row from 1991 till 2004.

More importantly, the BJP has retained the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat since 1989.

Former Prime Minister, late Atal Bihari Vajpayee represented Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency in 1991, while another prominent leader of the BJP, Sushma Swaraj won two elections – in 2009 and 2014.

The Vidisha seat comprises eight Assembly segments including Bhojpur, Sanchi, Silwani, Vidisha, Basoda, Budhni, Ichhawar and Khategaon.

Ramakant Bhargava is the current MP of Vidisha.