Bhopal, Apr 7 (IANS): Two out of six Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, which will vote on April 19, have been reserved for the Schedule Tribes (ST) while two seats have remained unreserved which are majority tribal populated.
Shahdol and Mandla are among the six Lok Sabha constituencies reserved for ST in Madhya Pradesh. Seven out of eight assembly seats under this Lok Sabha constituency have been reserved for ST candidates. BJP has retained it since 2014 and has fielded sitting MP Himandri Singh against Congress' Phundelal Marko this time.
Three other seats reserved for ST in MP are Betul, Ratlam and Khargon which will vote in the next three phases.
Mandla Lok Sabha seat consists of eight assembly segments, out of which six are reserved for ST and one for SC candidates. BJP won the last two conservative Lok Sabha elections from Mandla.
Former Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste (BJP) will take on Congress' three-time ex-MLA, Omkar Singh Markam. BJP won Mandla seats for the last six terms.
Chhindwara, the largest Lok Sabha seat (area-wise) is among 19 non-reserved parliamentary constituencies in Madhya Pradesh. ST (37 per cent) and SC (12 per cent) together consist of close to 50 per cent population of Chhindwara.
Tribal communities - Gond, Bharia, Kurku and Pardhan are in the majority in Chhindwara. Congress won all Lok Sabha seats from this seat and lost once till the last election in 2019. Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath, who is contesting his second Lok Sabha election from his family bastion, will take on BJP's Vivek Shahu 'Banti' this time.
Similarly, Balaghat is also a non-reserved seat, but a tribal-dominated Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh. Two out of eight assembly seats under Balaghat Lok Sabha seats are reserved for ST candidates.
BJP won Balaghat seats for the last six consecutive terms between 1998 to 2019. BJP has retained its sitting MP Bharti Pardi who will take on Congress' Samart Saraswat in the coming Lok Sabha election.
Sidhi which is also a non-reserved Lok Sabha seat in MP, but it also has a large chunk of tribal population, especially Gond and Baiga communities. Three out of eight assembly seats under this Lok Sabha are reserved for ST and one for SC candidates.
BJP has been retaining the Sidhi Lok Sabha seat since 2009 and this time the ruling side has fielded Rajesh Mishra against former minister and Congress candidate Kamaleshwar Patel.
MP's Jabalpur Lok Sabha seat also has a sizable tribal vote in some regions. Of eight assembly seats in Jabalpur Lok Sabha, one is reserved for ST and one for SC candidates. BJP retained this seat since 1996 and this time it has fielded a fresh candidate - Ashish Dube against Congress' Dinesh Yadav.