PM Modi to address first public rally for LS polls in MP's Maoist-hit Balaghat

Bhopal, April 9 (IANS) BJP's top star campaigner Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally address the first public rally in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat for the Lok Sabha elections, beginning from April 19.

PM Modi kick-started BJP's poll campaign from Jabalpur participating in a massive roadshow on April 7, but he has not addressed the rally on his first visit to the state after the general elections were announced on March 16.

PM Modi will address his first public rally in Balaghat Lok Sabha constituency - a Maoist-hit region in the state.

Before arriving in MP, PM Modi shared a message on his social media account (X), expressing his happiness, "My family members across the country have resolved to make BJP-NDA win a hat-trick in the Lok Sabha elections. In this festive atmosphere of democracy, I will have the privilege of seeking the blessings of the people in public meetings in Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh today."

Maoist-hit Balaghat Lok Sabha seat has been under stronghold of the Congress and Independents from 1952 to 1996, however, the BJP wrested this seat from Congress in 1998 and retained it winning six consecutive general elections, including in 2019.

The BJP has replaced its sitting Lok Sabha MP Dhal Singh Bisen and has fielded a fresh candidate - Bharti Paradhi from Balaghat seat against Samrat Saraswat of the Congress.

Paradhi, who belongs to a political family, has been associated with BJP's women wing in Balaghat district unit and has been pushed for the Lower House of the Parliament by BJP's central readership.

Paradhi is from the camp of BJP veteran and ex-MP Gaurishankar Bisen, who dominated Balaghat's politics for over the last two decades. Her name was recommended by MP cabinet minister Prahlad Patel, who also won Lok Sabha election from Balaghat in 1999.

Two out of eight assembly seats under Balaghat Lok Sabha constituencies are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST). BJP and Congress each bagged 4-4 assembly seats in the November 2023 elections.

Balaght is located adjoining Mandla Lok Sabha seats – another Naxal-hit district in Madhya Pradesh bordering Chhattisgarh.