In the upcoming 2023 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, the Congress party has announced the names of 144 candidates. The elections are scheduled for November 17, with 230 assembly seats up for grabs.
In what is set to be a riveting contest, Congress has pitted actor Vikram Maastal, known for his role as Hanuman in ‘Ramayan’, against the state’s incumbent Chief Minister and BJP leader, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in the Budhni constituency. Chouhan has won this seat consecutively four times.
Vikram Maastal, a native of Budni, has a successful career in television and web series. Besides portraying Hanuman in 2008’s ‘Ramayan’, he has appeared in TV shows like “Razia Sultan”, “21 Sarfarosh”, web series like “Aashram 3” and “Assi Nabbe Poore Sau”, and films such as “Top Gear” (2022) and “Battle of Saragarhi” (2017). Maastal joined the Congress just three months ago, endorsing his membership in front of Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath and has been active in Budni’s political scenario since then.
Meanwhile, in Chhindwara, the BJP has fielded Vivek Bunti Sahu against former Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Sahu, a 12th-grade pass-out and current BJP district president of Chhindwara, began his political journey as the head of the BJP youth wing. Sahu had previously contested against Kamal Nath and faced defeat. In the 2019 by-election, when Kamal Nath first contested for the legislative position from Chhindwara, he defeated Sahu by a margin of 25,837 votes, securing 1,14,459 votes compared to Sahu’s 88,622.