Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, two key states in the upcoming general election, are going to the polls today. Madhya Pradesh is voting in a single phase, while Chhattisgarh is in the second phase after the first round on November 7.
Here are the top 10 points to know about these elections:
1. In Madhya Pradesh’s Budhni, the electronic voting machine (EVM) at the polling center where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will vote had a malfunction. Voting was temporarily halted, causing a queue of people waiting to cast their votes. The EVM has now been fixed. Budhni is also the constituency from which Mr. Chouhan is contesting.
2. Chhattisgarh is a state where the Congress party has high hopes. The state’s BJP is in disarray, and there is massive support for Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is credited with putting the state on the path of progress. The Congress aims to win 75 out of the state’s 90 seats.
3. Madhya Pradesh is generating more interest due to the twist in the backstory of this election. The collapse of the Congress government led by Kamal Nath in 2020, following Jyotiraditya Scindia and his loyalists’ defection to the BJP, brought the BJP back to power. The Congress claims that the BJP’s return to power has led to unprecedented anti-incumbency. Both parties are now trying to prove they are the people’s choice.
4. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, popularly known as “mama” (maternal uncle), has been one of the state’s most popular leaders. However, the BJP has not projected him as the Chief Ministerial candidate this time and campaigned under the banner of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
5. The BJP has fielded seven MPs, including Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Pralhad Patel, and Faggan Singh Kulaste. Although Jyotiraditya Scindia is not contesting, the performance of his loyalists will have a significant impact on the power balance within the party.
6. There is speculation that the BJP’s focus on the Gwalior-Chambal and Mahakoshal regions, where it performed poorly in the 2018 elections, signals the party’s readiness to bring in a new face for the top job. However, others believe that replacing Mr. Chouhan, a prominent OBC leader with a mass following, could pose challenges.
7. The second phase of elections in Chhattisgarh features heavyweight candidates such as Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Deputy TS Singh Deo, eight state ministers, and four members of Parliament.
8. The traditional contest between the Congress and the BJP in Chhattisgarh has become multi-cornered with the entry of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.
9. The votes for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, along with Telangana, Rajasthan, and Mizoram, where elections are also taking place, will be counted on December 3.
As the elections unfold, all eyes will be on the outcome in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, as they could potentially shape the political landscape leading up to the general election.
