Kota
Kota, a low profile rural town in Bilaspur district is known as the place that ignited the demand for a separate Chhattisgarh state.
Kota, a low profile rural town in Bilaspur district is known as the place that ignited the demand for a separate Chhattisgarh state. In the forfront of the statehood movement was veteran Congress leader Rajendra Prasad Shukla.
Senior Congress leader Rajendra Prasad Shukla will be seking re-elections from Kota for a record fifth time in succession. Besides Kota, Shukla had won assembly elections fro Lormi in Bilaspur during the 1967 and 1972 elections. He shifted to Kota after a defeat in 1977.
A constitutonal expert, Mr Shukla was the speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly in the undivided state. He also represented several key ministeries in Madhya Pradesh and now is an important part of the Chhattisgarh cabinet.
Kota has been traditional stronghold of the Congress as no other party could win from here ever since 1967 polls. While Rajendra Prasad Shukla was elected from four times from here Mathura Prasad Dubey another Congress candidate was elected for four terms from Kota in 1980, 1977, 1972 and 1967.
In the first election in 1952, Kanshiram Tiwari (Congress) defeated Chintaman Rao (Independent). In 1962 when the constituency was reserved for scheduled tribe candidates, Congress nominee Lal Chandrashekhar defeated Dukhbhanjan Singh (Jan Sangh).