Bhopal: The Congress has chosen “Hanuman” to take on Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on his home turf Budhni in Sehore district in the Assembly polls scheduled for November 17.
The opposition party, which released its first list of 144 candidates during the day, has given the ticket from Budhni to actor Vikram Mastal, who achieved fame for his portrayal of Hanuman in the popular television serial “Ramayan 2”.
Mastal (40) joined the Congress two months ago and hails from Budhni.
“Chouhan has a huge challenge as Mastal is very popular. He is the Congress’ Hanuman,” Congress spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra told reporters.
Chouhan (64) is the longest serving chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and has been on the top post a record four times.
He has won from Budhni four consecutive times since 2006, and was also MLA between 1990 and 1991.
Incidentally, the Congress started its campaign for the polls on June 12 this year in Jabalpur with massive cutouts of Hanuman dotting the city and rallies witnessing ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ chants.
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