Hitting the campaign trail in poll-bound Budhni, a host of top Congress leaders on Tuesday participated in electioneering at Bhairunda and Rehti areas of the constituency and sought support for party candidate Rajkumar Patel.

The party brass, including AICC General Secretary in charge for Madhya Pradesh, Jitendra Singh, MPCC chief Jitu Patwari, former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh, former Union MoS Arun Yadav, and former state minister Sajjan Singh Verma, addressed Congress workers and the public as part of the campaign schedule.

In his address, Jitendra Singh appealed to voters to defeat the BJP, which he said only deceives the public with lies and misleads them to secure votes.

Once they get the votes, they forget the promises made to the people.He described the party candidate, Rajkumar Patel, as a true soldier of Congress, stressed his local roots, and promised that his victory would definitely result in development in the area.

State Congress unit chief Jitu Patwari said that Budhni used to be a stronghold of Congress, where the Congress symbol – the hand – would always win. In later years, the people of Budhni voted for Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the vain hope for development, jobs, and roads. "But ask the people here, did even 20 people get jobs? Did roads get built?" he questioned.Persisting with the attack on the ruling party, Patwari questioned the BJP over its unfulfilled promises.

He raised several issues, including the MSP for soya, wheat, and paddy farmers, and the prices of LPG gas for housewives.

Targeting BJP candidate Ramakant Bhargava, Patwari said that the former bank employee had ruined the bank and cast doubts over his candidature while insinuating that he was a proxy for the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister.

Patwari said that Budhni’s single seat does not even count for the BJP’s health, but the people of Budhni can save democracy by voting for the Congress party.

Former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said that the BJP never acts on its promises. Whether at the state level or the national level, an atmosphere of lawlessness prevails. Women are not safe in the state, farmers are being cheated, and the future of the youth is being toyed with.

Former Union Minister Arun Yadav said that although "Shaurya Dwar" (Gateways of Bravery) have been built at various places in Budhni, he couldn’t even tell if there were roads or just potholes."After 20 years of being the Chief Minister, Chouhan hasn’t developed Budhni; he has only developed himself," he claimed.