Raipur is the impenetrable fort of BJP

Raveesh Benjamin

Raipur: Lok Sabha seat is considered one of the important seats of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is the capital of Chhattisgarh and being the capital, it is considered a VIP seat of the state. Raipur Lok Sabha seat has been the stronghold of BJP. It is the impenetrable fort of the party. BJP has won this seat 8 times. BJP veteran Ramesh Bais has been an MP from this seat seven times. Currently, Sunil Soni of BJP is the MP.

Raipur Lok Sabha seat has an interesting history. BJP has occupied this seat for the last 20 years. This seat came into existence for the first time in the year 1952. From the year 1952 to 1971, this seat was occupied by Congress. Except for a few years, this seat has been in the possession of BJP. BJP has been in power on this seat for almost three decades. Ramesh Bais was a continuous MP from the year 1996 to 2019. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Ramesh Bais defeated Satyanarayan Sharma of Congress. Sunil Kumar Soni won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He defeated Congress candidate Pramod Dubey. Here the Congress is constantly working hard to find its ground. It has to field different faces every time. On the other hand, BJP faces the challenge of retaining this seat. Campaigning is at its peak in the nine assembly seats of Raipur Lok Sabha seat. This time the party has cut the ticket of sitting MP Sunil Soni and fielded the current School Education Minister and 8-time MLA Brijmohan Agarwal in the electoral battle. Secondly, Congress has fielded Vikas Upadhyay, who lost the MLA election from Raipur West, as its candidate in this assembly election.

Brijmohan Agarwal is an 8-time MLA

BJP has cut the ticket of sitting MP Sunil Kumar Soni from Raipur Lok Sabha seat and has fielded 8-time MLA and Higher Education Minister Brijmohan Agarwal in his place. Brijmohan has been continuously winning the assembly elections from Raipur South Assembly seat. He has been in the post of minister every time. He is called the troubleshooter in Chhattisgarh BJP politics. Brijmohan Agarwal has been a minister in the Patwa government in undivided Madhya Pradesh. After this, he was a minister in all three tenures of the Raman government. Born on May 1, 1959 in Raipur, Brijmohan Agarwal has an LLB degree. He has also received the Best MLA award in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly. In the year 1977, Brijmohan joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad at the age of just 16. After this, he was the president of the student union during the years 1981 and 1982. In 1984, he joined the BJP. Then from 1988 to 1990, he was the youth minister of BJYM. In the year 1990, he was elected as MLA for the first time in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly. During that time he was the youngest MLA of the state. After this, he became MLA continuously in the years 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018 and 2023.

Vikas Upadhyay contesting MP election for the first time
Vikas Upadhyay is trying his luck for the first time as a Congress candidate from Raipur Lok Sabha seat. In the year 2018, he became MLA from Raipur West for the first time. He defeated three-time BJP MLA Rajesh Munat. In the assembly elections 2023, Rajesh Munat defeated him and captured this seat. Vikas Upadhyay was the block president of NSUI Raipur district in the year 1998. In the year 1999, he became the NSUI District President of Raipur district. In the year 2004, he became the state president of NSUI. He became the National Secretary of NSUI in 2006. He was made the National Secretary of Youth Congress in 2009. He became the National General Secretary of Youth Congress in 2010. He was the Raipur City District Congress President from 2013-2018.