Ahead of Rahul Gandhi's rally in MP, Congress poster featuring BJP candidate put up at venue!

The photo of the BJP leader, against whom Rahul Gandhi was poised to campaign against, was hastily replaced by a photo of Congress MLA Rajneesh Harvansh Singh.

Rahul Gandhi address to the public rally in Dhanora village of Mandla Lok Sabha in favour of Congress candidate Omkar Singh follows a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's grand roadshow in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur.

PM Modi had ramped up BJP's campaign in the state on Sunday as he, along with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, embarked on a massive roadshow attended by thousands of people.

While the Prime Minister's campaign focused on the state's Mahakoshal region, which comprises Congress stronghold Chhindwara, Rahul Gandhi will address a public meeting at Dhanora in the southern Seoni district.

Seoni and Shahdol are tribal areas that have traditionally stood with Congress. During the just-concluded Assembly elections, the party fared well in tribal areas, winning 22 seats of the 47 reserved for STs.

In Mandla, Union minister and six-time BJP MP Faggan Singh Kulaste takes on ex-minister and four-time Congress MLA from Dindori-ST Omkar Sigh Markam, which will be a re-run of the 2014 contest, when Kulaste had won by more than one lakh votes.

Kulaste, however, lost the recent assembly poll from his home seat Niwas-ST

Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh will be conducted in four phases. The first phase of polling would be held on April 19, followed by April 26, May 7 and May 13.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, making it the sixth-largest state in terms of parliamentary representation. Out of these, 10 seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the BJP secured a massive victory in Madhya Pradesh, winning 28 out of the 29 seats. The Indian National Congress (INC) managed to win only one seat- Chhindwara. (ANI)