A unique contest is underway for the Hoshangabad seat in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election. Sitarasharan Sharma, former speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, and incumbent MLA from Hoshangabad, faces his brother Girija Shankar Sharma. While Mr. Sitasharan Sharma is a BJP candidate, Mr. Girija Shankar represents Congress.
Also see: Madhya Pradesh Election Results 2023, LIVE Updates
In what has proved to be a triangular fight, Mr. Sitarasharan has emerged in first place, currently polling at 72,391 votes as per data from the website of the Election Commission of India. His brother is in third place, with 32,944 votes. The second spot has been taken by Bhagvati Prasad Chourey at 56,831 (as of 3:20 p.m. on December 3, 2023.) The true challenger to the incumbent BJP MLA may thus prove to be Mr. Chourey, although a margin of around 15,560 exists at the time of writing. Mr. Sitasharan has held the Hoshangabad seat since 2013.
BJP is leading in 166 of 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, while Congress trails at 62, as of the time of writing. The BSP and the Bharat Adivasi Party are leading in one seat each.
‘Face-off not unusual’
Mr. Sitasharan has engaged in some unusual practices during his electoral campaigning, including not seeing his brother until polling day on November 17, to avoid socially awkward encounters between the two contesting candidates.
The Congress candidate Mr. Girija Shankar, was, until recently, a member of the BJP. He joined the Congress in September after failing to receive a ticket from the BJP for the elections. He has previously been an MLA as well, elected from Itarsi in 2003 and Hoshangabad in 2008.
In an earlier interview with The Hindu, Mr. Sitasharan said that the face-off was not unusual and that “it derives from our Sanskar itself.”
“Like in the Mahabharata, Karna and Arjuna are brothers but on opposite sides. Karna, despite being a good man, fights on the side of adharma and Arjuna fights for dharma,” he says, equating himself with Arjuna rather than Karna. He adds that the contest between the two “is ideological and not personal at all” and that they even share an accountant.
An unimpressed voter earlier told The Hindu that “Ghee toh ek hi matka main jayega [the butter will be put in the same vessel],” indicating a cynical take that no mater who wins, it will be a win for the Sharma family.
The independent candidate, Mr. Chourey, has also been associated with the Sharma family. He was reportedly hopeful of securing a BJP ticket, and after failing to receive one, filed a second set of nominations as an Independent. This was accepted after scrutiny.
