Rakesh Singh mp election win But we have a candidate, who has pledged not to use alcohol in the campaigning. He is executing his pledge for the past two decades and has fought five elections successfully. Every time, his victory is seen increasing. Meet BJP candidate Shri Rakesh Singh, who contested from Jabalpur West Assembly constituency. Rakesh Singh had won a fifth consecutive election, in which alcohol was not used. He represents the Jabalpur Lok Sabha constituency but was asked by BJP leaders to contest the Assembly election from Jabalpur West. Rakesh Singh had snatched this seat from Congress in the Assembly election. Rakesh Singh made his political debut in 2004 by contesting the Jabalpur Lok Sabha seat. He fought against Congress stalwart Vishwanath Dubey, who was the mayor of Jabalpur.

Use of alcohol was an established reality of the campaign but Rakesh Singh decided to swim against the stream. He released an advertisement in local newspapers, announcing his pledge – that he would not use alcohol in the election. The advertisement also mentioned the ill effects of alcohol after consuming alcohol. However, the focus of the anti-alcohol campaign is high moral values in public life. Rakesh Singh’s decision paid dividends. Opposite Congress camp, went on the defensive and was forced to adopt the same policy thanks to public pressure. 2004 was the first election for Rakesh Singh but he won the election with a margin of 99,000 without the use of alcohol.


Rakesh Singh got a morale boost because of his impressive victory and he continued to follow the use of alcohol in the election. Subsequently, Rakesh Singh contested the 2009, 2014, and 2019 Lok Sabha elections with the same policy. Every time his victory margin was seen increasing. In the 2019 election, he won the election with a massive margin of 4.50 lakh margin. This encouraged Shri Rakesh Singh and he continued with his policy in the current Assembly election. In the 2023 Assembly election, BJP fielded him from Jabalpur West constituency.

This is supposed to be the bastion of Congress leader Tarun Bhanot, who was finance minister in Kamal Nath ministry. Bhanot has been a two-time MLA from Jabalpur and is considered an influential leader in Jabalpur. But it did not deter Rakesh Singh from giving up his anti-alcohol stand. He emphasized anti-alcoholism more vigorously.

Shri Rakesh Singh was initially under pressure from his men to rethink his stand. But he did not budge. He has continued with his stand for two decades now. As a result, his opponents are forced to follow his line, making alcohol irrelevant in the election. Jabalpur, thus, has emerged as a new model, which needs to be followed by other leaders and parties.