Madhya Pradesh: Assembly elections
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2013, 2018
The results
From: [From the archives, Oct 10, 2023: The Times of India]
See graphic:
The results of the elections to the Legislature Assembly in MP in 2013, 2018
2018
The results
Comparisons with the 2013 assembly elections
From: December 12, 2018: The Times of India
See graphic:
The results of the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, 2018
Comparisons with the 2013 assembly elections
The final scoreline may be too close to call, but what’s remarkable is how Congress vote share rocketed. In 2013, Congress (36.38%) had 8.5% less votes than BJP (44.88%).
With an undercurrent of anti-incumbency after 15 years of BJP rule, coupled with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s promise of farm loan waiver, it was estimated that Congress would sweep MP with its 70% agrarian vote bank. PCC chief Kamal Nath repeatedly said the party would get nothing less than 140 seats.
later it was clear that though Congress had made tremendous gains in voting percentage and was likely to double its seat count — it may not be in a position to form the government on its own.
In the morning hours, it looked like Congress was slowly taking a lead, gaining one seat at a time as trends starting pouring in. Around 11.30am, the tide swung for BJP, before tilting back to Congress at 3.30pm. For most of the day, the two sides see-sawed in the 100-114 range. At one point, BJP slumped and was leading in only 94 seats, while Congress climbed to 119. Thereafter, the tooth-and-nail fight again came down to the same range of a difference of one to 10 seats.
The state Congress brass — Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Vivek Tankha — reached the PCC office after 10:30am where they were welcomed with bursting of crackers, beating of drums and slogan shouting by party workers.
December 13, 2018: The Times of India
Despite strong antiincumbency against the 15-year old Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, a large number of voters preferred not to go with Congress. This is one of the factors that made the election so uncertain.
Congress managed to nearly double its seats, but its vote share is still a shade lower than BJP’s. Gondwana Gantantra Party and Samajwadi Party, on the other hand, increased their vote share significantly.
SP even ended up winning a seat in this election. The party’s vote share shot up from 0.03% in 2013 to 1.3% this time, and the party secured over 4.96 lakh votes, roughly 10 times the difference between BJP and Congress. There is a meagre difference of 47,827 votes between Congress and BJP in this election.
GGP, whose vote share in the 2013 elections was only 1%, bagged 1.8% votes this time — 6.75 lakh people chose GGP rather than the big parties, roughly 14 times the difference in votes between Congress and BJP. The 2018 election was not only a reality check for BJP, but BSP as well. BJP lost 3.87% of its vote share but BSP, which hoped to make a bigger mark, ended up with a lower vote share and seat tally. It dipped from 6.29% in 2013 to 5% in 2018 and its four seats in 2013 were reduced by half.
Though BJP and BSP lost votes, it wasn’t Congress alone that gained. Votes were diverted to smaller parties like GGP, SP and even new entrants AAP and SAPAKS which got 0.7% and 0.4% votes respectively, thus cumulatively grabbing 1.1% votes.
2023
Dec 4, 2023: The Indian Express
The Bharatiya Janata Party recorded a massive victory in the Madhya Pradesh elections, bagging 163 seats in the 230-seater Assembly. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan attributed the victory to the double-engine government. Meanwhile, Congress has won 66 seats and the Bharat Adivasi Party tasted its maiden win in the state polls from the Sailana constituency near Rajasthan border.
So how did the BJP manage to overcome the so-called anti-incumbency factor? The party, which had been in power for two decades except for a 15-month gap starting in 2018 during which Kamal Nath-led Congress was in government, reportedly cashed in on Chouhan’s schemes that were popular among the women. In addition to this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the election campaign in the state and Union Home Minister Amit Shah took control of the electioneering on the ground level, writes Liz Mathew.
Here’s the list of winners from each constituency of Madhya Pradesh:
| Sl No. | Constituency | Winner | Party |
| 1. | AGAR (SC) | MADHAV SINGH (MADHU GEHLOT) | BJP |
| 2. | SUSNER | BHAIRON SINGH †BAPU “ | INC |
| 3. | ALIRAJPUR (ST) | CHOUHAN NAGAR SINGH | BJP |
| 4. | JOBAT (ST) | SENA – MAHESH PATEL | INC |
| 5. | ANUPPUR (ST) | BISAHU LAL SINGH | BJP |
| 6. | KOTMA | DILIP JAISWAL | BJP |
| 7. | PUSHPRAJGARH (ST) | PHUNDELAL SINGH MARKO | INC |
| 8. | ASHOK NAGAR (SC) | HARIBABOO RAI | INC |
| 9. | CHANDERI | JAGANNATH SINGH RAGHUWANSHI | BJP |
| 10. | MUNGAOLI | BRAJENDRA SINGH YADAV | BJP |
| 11. | BAIHAR (ST) | BHAGAT SINGH NETAM | BJP |
| 12. | BALAGHAT | ANUBHA MUNJARE | INC |
| 13. | KATANGI | GAURAV SINGH PARDHI | BJP |
| 14. | LANJI | RAJKUMAR KARRAHE | BJP |
| 15. | PARASWADA | MADHU BHAU BHAGAT | INC |
| 16. | WARASEONI | VIVEK VICKY PATEL | INC |
| 17. | BARWANI (ST) | RAJAN MANDLOI | INC |
| 18. | PANSEMAL (ST) | SHYAM BARDE | BJP |
| 19. | RAJPUR (ST) | BALA BACHCHAN | INC |
| 20. | SENDHWA (ST) | MONTU SOLANKI | INC |
| 21. | AMLA (SC) | DR. YOGESH PANDAGRE | BJP |
| 22. | BETUL | HEMANT VIJAY KHANDELWAL | BJP |
| 23. | BHAINSDEHI (ST) | MAHENDRA SINGH KESHAR SINGH CHOUHAN | BJP |
| 24. | GHORADONGRI (ST) | GANGA SAJJAN SINGH UIKEY | BJP |
| 25. | MULTAI | CHANDRASHEKHAR DESHMUKH | BJP |
| 26. | ATER | HEMANT SATYADEV KATARE | INC |
| 27. | BHIND | NARENDRA SINGH KUSHWAH | BJP |
| 28. | GOHAD (SC) | KESHAV DESAI | INC |
| 29. | LAHAR | AMBRISH SHARMA “GUDDU†| BJP |
| 30. | MEHGAON | RAKESH SHUKLA | BJP |
| 31. | BERASIA (SC) | VISHNU KHATRI | BJP |
| 32. | BHOPAL DAKSHIN-PASCHIM | BHAGWANDAS SABNANI | BJP |
| 33. | BHOPAL MADHYA | ARIF MASOOD | INC |
| 34. | BHOPAL UTTAR | ATIF ARIF AQUEEL | INC |
| 35. | GOVINDPURA | KRISHNA GAUR | BJP |
| 36. | HUZUR | RAMESHWAR SHARMA | BJP |
| 37. | NARELA | VISHVAS SARANG | BJP |
| 38. | BURHANPUR | ARCHANA DIDI | BJP |
| 39. | NEPANAGAR (ST) | MANJU RAJENDRA DADU | BJP |
| 40. | BIJAWAR | BABLU RAJESH SHUKLA | BJP |
| 41. | CHANDLA (SC) | AHIRWAR DILEEP | BJP |
| 42. | CHHATARPUR | LALITA YADAV | BJP |
| 43. | MAHARAJPUR | KAMAKHYA PRATAP SINGH (TEEKA RAJA) | BJP |
| 44. | MALHARA | BAHIN RAMSIYA BHARTI | INC |
| 45. | RAJNAGAR | ARVIND PATERIYA | BJP |
| 46. | AMARWARA (ST) | KAMLESH PRATAP SHAH | INC |
| 47. | CHHINDWARA | KAMAL NATH | INC |
| 48. | CHURAI | CHOUDHARY SUJEET MERSINGH | INC |
| 49. | JUNNARDEO (ST) | SUNIL UIKEY | INC |
| 50. | PANDHURNA (ST) | NEELESH PUSARAM UIKEY | INC |
| 51. | PARASIA (SC) | SOHANLAL BALMIK | INC |
| 52. | SAUNSAR | VIJAY REVNATH CHORE | INC |
| 53. | DAMOH | JAYANT MALAIYA | BJP |
| 54. | HATTA (SC) | UMADEVI LALCHAND KHATIK | BJP |
| 55. | JABERA | DHARMENDRABHAV SINGH LODHI | BJP |
| 56. | PATHARIYA | LAKHAN PATEL | BJP |
| 57. | BHANDER (SC) | PHOOL SINGH BARAIYA | INC |
| 58. | DATIA | BHARTI RAJENDRA | INC |
| 59. | SEWDA | PRADEEP AGRAWAL | BJP |
| 60. | BAGLI (ST) | MURLI BHAWARA | BJP |
| 61. | DEWAS | GAYATRI RAJE PUAR | BJP |
| 62. | HATPIPLIYA | MANOJ NARAYANSINGH CHOUDHARI | BJP |
| 63. | KHATEGAON | AASHISH GOVIND SHARMA | BJP |
| 64. | SONKATCH (SC) | Dr. RAJESH SONKAR | BJP |
| 65. | BADNAWAR | BHANWARSINGH SHEKHAWAT “BABU JI†| INC |
| 66. | DHAR | NEENA VIKRAM VERMA | BJP |
| 67. | DHARAMPURI (ST) | KALUSINGH THAKUR | BJP |
| 68. | GANDHWANI (ST) | UMANG SINGHAR | INC |
| 69. | KUKSHI (ST) | BAGHEL SURENDRA SINGH HONEY | INC |
| 70. | MANAWAR (ST) | DR. HIRALAL ALAWA | INC |
| 71. | SARDARPUR (ST) | PRATAP GREWAL | INC |
| 72. | DINDORI (ST) | OMKAR SINGH MARKAM | INC (Result in progress) |
| 73. | SHAHPURA (ST) | OMPRAKASH DHURWEY | BJP |
| 74. | BAMORI | RISHI AGRAWAL | INC |
| 75. | CHACHOURA | PRIYANKA PENCHI | BJP |
| 76. | GUNA (SC) | PANNA LAL SHAKYA | BJP |
| 77. | RAGHOGARH | JAIVARDHAN SINGH | INC |
| 78. | BHITARWAR | MOHAN SINGH RATHORE | BJP |
| 79. | DABRA (SC) | SURESH RAJE | INC |
| 80. | GWALIOR | PRADHUMAN SiNGH TOMAR | BJP |
| 81. | GWALIOR EAST | DR SATISH SIKARWAR | INC |
| 82. | GWALIOR RURAL | SAHAB SINGH GURJAR | INC |
| 83. | GWALIOR SOUTH | NARAYAN SiNGH KUSHWAH | BJP |
| 84. | HARDA | DR. RAMKISHORE DOGNE | INC |
| 85. | TIMARNI (ST) | ABHIJEET SHAH (ANKIT BABA) | INC |
| 86. | HOSHANGABAD | DR. SITA SARANSHARMA | BJP |
| 87. | PIPARIYA (SC) | THAKURDAS NAGWANSHI | BJP |
| 88. | SEONI-MALWA | PREMSHANKAR KUNJILAL VERMA | BJP |
| 89. | SOHAGPUR | VIJAYPAL SINGH | BJP |
| 90. | DEPALPUR | MANOJ NIRBHAY SINGH PATEL | BJP |
| 91. | DR. AMBEDKAR NAGAR-MHOW | USHA BABU SINGH THAKUR | BJP |
| 92. | INDORE – 1 | KAILASH VIJAYVARGIYA | BJP |
| 93. | INDORE – 2 | RAMESH MENDOLA | BJP |
| 94. | INDORE – 3 | GOLU SHUKLA RAKESH | BJP |
| 95. | INDORE – 4 | MALINI LAXMANSINGH GAUR | BJP |
| 96. | INDORE – 5 | MAHENDRA HARDIA | BJP |
| 97. | RAU | MADHU VERMA | BJP |
| 98. | SANWER (SC) | TULSIRAM SILAWAT | BJP |
| 99. | BARGI | NEERAJ SINGH LODHI | BJP |
| 100. | JABALPUR CANTT | ASHOK ISHWARDAS ROHANI | BJP |
| 101. | JABALPUR EAST (SC) | LAKHAN GHANGHORIA | INC |
| 102. | JABALPUR NORTH | ABHILASH PANDEY | BJP |
| 103. | JABALPUR WEST | RAKESH SINGH | BJP |
| 104. | PANAGAR | SUSHIL KUMAR TIWARI (INDU BHAIYA) | BJP |
| 105. | PATAN | AJAY VISHNOI | BJP |
| 106. | SIHORA (ST) | SANTOSH VARKADE | BJP |
| 107. | JHABUA (ST) | DR. VIKRANT BHURIA | INC |
| 108. | PETLAWAD (ST) | NIRMALA DILEEPSINGH BHURIA | BJP |
| 109. | THANDLA (ST) | VEERSINGH BHURIYA | INC |
| 110. | BARWARA (ST) | DHIRENDRA BAHADUR SINGH DHIRU | BJP |
| 111. | BAHORIBAND | PRANAY PRABHAT PANDEY (GUDDU BHAIYA) | BJP |
| 112. | MURWARA | SANDEEP SHRIPRASAD JAISWAL | BJP |
| 113. | VIJAYRAGHAVGARH | SANJAY SATYENDRA PATHAK | BJP |
| 114. | HARSUD (ST) | KUNWAR VIJAY SHAH | BJP |
| 115. | KHANDWA (SC) | KANCHAN MUKESH TANVE | BJP |
| 116. | MANDHATA | NARAYAN PATEL | BJP |
| 117. | PANDHANA (ST) | CHAYA MORE | BJP |
| 118. | BADWAHA | SACHIN BIRLA | BJP |
| 119. | BHAGWANPURA (ST) | KEDAR CHIDABHAI DAWAR | INC |
| 120. | BHIKANGAON (ST) | JHUMA DR DHYANSINGH SOLANKI | INC |
| 121. | KASRAWAD | SACHIN SUBHASHCHANDRA YADAV | INC |
| 122. | KHARGONE | BALKRISHN PATIDAR | BJP |
| 123. | MAHESHWAR (SC) | RAJKUMAR MEV | BJP |
| 124. | BICHHIYA (ST) | NARAYAN SINGH PATTA | INC |
| 125. | MANDLA (ST) | SAMPATIYA UIKEY | BJP |
| 126. | NIWAS (ST) | CHAINSINGH WARKADE | INC |
| 127. | GAROTH | CHANDAR SINGH SISODIYA | BJP |
| 128. | MALHARGARH (SC) | JAGDISH DEVDA | BJP |
| 129. | MANDSOUR | VIPIN JAIN | INC |
| 130. | SUWASRA | DUNG HARDEEPSINGH | BJP |
| 131. | AMBAH (SC) | DEVENDRA RAMNARAYAN SAKHWAR | INC |
| 132. | DIMANI | NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR | BJP |
| 133. | JAURA | PANKAJ UPADHYAY | INC |
| 134. | MORENA | DINESH GURJAR | INC |
| 135. | SABALAGADH | SARLA VIJENDRA RAWAT | BJP |
| 136. | SUMAWALI | AIDAL SINGH KANSANA | BJP |
| 137. | GADARWARA | UDAY PRATAP SINGH | BJP |
| 138. | GOTEGAON (SC) | MAHENDRA NAGESH | BJP |
| 139. | NARSINGPUR | PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL | BJP |
| 140. | TENDUKHEDA | VISHWANATH SINGH “MULAM BHAIYA†| BJP |
| 141. | JAWAD | OMPRAKASH SAKHLECHA | BJP |
| 142. | MANASA | ANIRUDDHA (MADHAV) MAROO | BJP |
| 143. | NEEMUCH | DILIP SINGH PARIHAR | BJP |
| 144. | GUNNOUR (SC) | RAJESH KUMAR VERMA | BJP |
| 145. | PANNA | BRIJENDRA PRATAP SINGH | BJP |
| 146. | PAWAI | PRAHLAD LODHI | BJP |
| 147. | BHOJPUR | SURENDRA PATWA | BJP |
| 148. | SANCHI (SC) | DR. PRABHURAM CHOUDHARY | BJP |
| 149. | SILWANI | DEVENDRA PATEL | INC |
| 150. | UDAIPURA | NARENDRA SHIVAJI PATEL | BJP |
| 151. | BIAORA | NARAYAN SINGH PANWAR | BJP |
| 152. | KHILCHIPUR | HAJARILAL DANGI | BJP |
| 153. | NARSINGHGARH | MOHAN SHARMA | BJP |
| 154. | RAJGARH | AMAR SINGH YADAV | BJP |
| 155. | SARANGPUR (SC) | GOTAM TETWAL | BJP |
| 156. | ALOT (SC) | DR. CHINTAMANI MALVIYA | BJP |
| 157. | JAORA | RAJENDRA PANDEY “RAJU BHAIYA†| BJP |
| 158. | RATLAM CITY | CHETANYA KASYAP “BHAIYYAJI†| BJP |
| 159. | RATLAM RURAL (ST) | MATHURA LAL DAMAR | BJP |
| 160. | SAILANA (ST) | KAMLESHWAR DODIYAR | BAP |
| 161. | DEOTALAB | GIRISH GAUTAM | BJP |
| 162. | GURH | NAGENDRA SINGH | BJP |
| 163. | MANGAWAN (SC) | ENGINEER NARENDRA PRAJAPATI | BJP |
| 164. | MAUGANJ | PRADEEP PATEL | BJP |
| 165. | REWA | RAJENDRA SHUKLA | BJP |
| 166. | SEMARIYA | ABHAY MISHRA | INC |
| 167. | SIRMOUR | DIVYARAJ SINGH | BJP |
| 168. | TEONTHAR | SIDDHARTH TIWARI ‘RAJ’ | BJP |
| 169. | BANDA | VEERENDRA SINGH LODHI | BJP |
| 170. | BINA (SC) | ADV. NIRMLA SAPRE | INC |
| 171. | DEORI | BRIJBIHARI PATERIYAâ€GUDDA BHAIYA†| BJP |
| 172. | NARYAWALI (SC) | Er. PRADEEP LARIYA | BJP |
| 173. | REHLI | GOPAL BHARGAVA | BJP |
| 174. | SAGAR | SHALENDRA KUMAR JAIN | BJP |
| 175. | SURKHI | GOVIND SINGH RAJPUT | BJP |
| 176. | AMARPATAN | DR. RAJENDRA KUMAR SINGH | INC |
| 177. | CHITRAKOOT | SURENDRA SINGH GAHARWAR | BJP |
| 178. | MAIHAR | SHRIKANT CHATURVEDI | BJP |
| 179. | NAGOD | NAGENDRA SINGH | BJP |
| 180. | RAIGAON (SC) | PRATIMA BAGRI | BJP |
| 181. | RAMPUR-BAGHELAN | VIKRAM SINGH (VICKY) | BJP |
| 182. | SATNA | DABBU SIDDHARTH SUKHLAL KUSHWAHA | INC |
| 183. | ASHTA (SC) | GOPAL SINGH ENGINEER | BJP |
| 184. | BUDHNI | SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN | BJP |
| 185. | ICHHAWAR | KARAN SINGH VERMA | BJP |
| 186. | SEHORE | SUDESH RAI | BJP |
| 187. | BARGHAT (ST) | KAMAL MARSKOLE | BJP |
| 188. | KEOLARI | RAJNEESH HARVANSH SINGH | INC |
| 189. | LAKHNADON (ST) | YOGENDRA SINGH BABA | INC |
| 190. | SEONI | DINESH RAI MUNMUN | BJP |
| 191. | BEOHARI (ST) | SHARAD JUGLAL KOL | BJP |
| 192. | JAISINGHNAGAR (ST) | MANISHA SINGH | BJP |
| 193. | JAITPUR (ST) | JAISINGH MARAVI | BJP |
| 194. | KALAPIPAL | GHANSHYAM CHANDRAVANSHI | BJP |
| 195. | SHAJAPUR | ARUN BHIMAWAD | BJP |
| 196. | SHUJALPUR | INDER SINGH PARMAR | BJP |
| 197. | SHEOPUR | BABU JANDEL | INC |
| 198. | VIJAYPUR | RAMNIWAS RAWAT | INC |
| 199. | KARERA (SC) | KHATIK RAMESH PRASAD | BJP |
| 200. | KOLARAS | MAHENDRA RAMSINGH YADAV KHATORA | BJP |
| 201. | PICHHORE | PREETAM LODHI | BJP |
| 202. | POHARI | KAILASH KUSHWAH | INC |
| 203. | SHIVPURI | DEVENDRA KUMAR JAIN ‘PATTE WALE’ | BJP |
| 204. | CHURHAT | AJAY ARJUN SINGH | INC |
| 205. | DHAUHANI (ST) | KUNWAR SINGH TEKAM | BJP |
| 206. | SIDHI | RITI PATHAK | BJP |
| 207. | SIHAWAL | VISHWAMITRA PATHAK | BJP |
| 208. | CHITRANGI (ST) | RADHA RAVINDRA SINGH | BJP |
| 209. | DEVSAR (SC) | RAJENDRA MESHRAM | BJP |
| 210. | SINGRAULI | RAM NIWAS SHAH | BJP |
| 211. | JATARA (SC) | KHATIK HARISHANKAR | BJP |
| 212. | KHARGAPUR | CHANDA-SURENDRA SINGH GOUR | INC |
| 213. | NIWARI | ANIL JAIN | BJP |
| 214. | PRITHVIPUR | NITENDRA BRAJENDRA SINGH RATHORE | INC |
| 215. | TIKAMGARH | YADVENDRA SINGH (JAGGU BHAIYA) | INC |
| 216. | BADNAGAR | JITENDRA UDAY SINGH PANDYA | BJP |
| 217. | GHATIYA (SC) | SATISH MALVIYA | BJP |
| 218. | MAHIDPUR | DINESH JAIN BOSS | INC |
| 219. | NAGDA-KHACHROD | DR. TEJBAHADUR SINGH CHAUHAN | BJP |
| 220. | TARANA (SC) | MAHESH PARMAR | INC |
| 221. | UJJAIN NORTH | ANIL JAIN KALUHEDA | BJP |
| 222. | UJJAIN SOUTH | DR. MOHAN YADAV | BJP |
| 223. | BANDHAVGARH (ST) | SHIVNARAYAN GYAN SINGH (LALLU BHAIYA) | BJP |
| 224. | MANPUR (ST) | MEENA SINGH | BJP |
| 225. | BASODA | HARISINGH RAGHUWANSHI “BADDA†| BJP |
| 226. | KURWAI (SC) | HARI SINGH SAPRE | BJP |
| 227. | SHAMSHABAD | SURYA PRAKASH MEENA | BJP |
| 228. | SIRONJ | UMAKANT SHARMA | BJP |
| 229. | VIDISHA | MUKESH TANDAN | BJP |
| 230. | KHURAI | BHOOPENDRA SINGH | BJP |
Details
Kamal Wilts In Face Of Lotus Onslaught
BJP Blows Away Anti-Incumbency For Fifth Term In MP
Anti-incumbency faded under the glare of the saffron sun on Sunday as BJP won its fifth term in MP – barring a 15-month Congress blip in between – with a landslide 163 of 230 seats. This was a statement victory from a party in office for nearly two decades, not just brushing aside perceptions of voter fatigue but also ensuring that the BJP goes into the big one, the Lok Sabha election five months from now, with a swagger.
It's not as if problems like inflation, crop loss and unemployment among the youth disappeared overnight. But a campaign blitzkrieg led by PM Narendra Modi and strategised by Union home minister Amit Shah, backed by the welfarist and emotional outreach of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, gave BJP momentum and a connection with voters that Congress failed to match.
Modi front & centre:
“MP Ke Mann Mein Modi” began as a slogan. As the assembly polls approached, it became the writing on the wall. On Sunday, it was the reality. BJP's campaign turned the focus on PM Modi and the 2024 battle, moving attention away from anti-incumbency and corruption charges against the BJP government. The PM addressed 15 rallies between November 4 and 14, nearly half of them in tribaldominated districts. Shah spoke at 21 rallies. BJP recorded big victories wherever the PM went.
‘Mama’ plays to gallery:
“I run a family, not a government,” he declared. “Bhaiyya” to his “ladli behnas” and “Mama” to the rest, Chouhan tugged at MP’s heartstrings. “You will miss me when I am gone,” he said on his home turf Budhni. Elsewhere, he asked, “Shouldn't I be CM again?” Aware he wasn't being projected as CM for the first time, he turned it to his advantage. On Sunday, he said, “This tremendous victory shows people have reposed trust in PM Modi, our doubleengine government and welfare schemes.”
Schemes hit target: Eight months before the polls, Chouhan announced an allowance of Rs 1,000 a month for his “ladli behnas”. More than 1.3 crore women registered. The first payment was made on June 10, and in September, it was raised to Rs 1,250 to counter Congress's promise of Rs 1,500 each. Closer to the polls, the scheme evolved to include gas subsidy and housing. The gambit was that not only women beneficiaries, but their voting family members would be moved, too. It proved to be a masterstroke, with a two-percentage point rise in the turnout of women voters. Modi's formula of 100% saturation of central and state schemes also worked on a large swathe of MP's population. For a year, the central and state governments focused on the implementation of all welfare schemes. BJP workers were given the job of registering beneficiaries.
Central command:
Sensing anti-incumbency, BJP parachuted central leaders into Madhya Pradesh. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar led the campaign while Shah took care of strategy with two other Union ministers, Bhupendra Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw. Shah said the next CM would be decided by the party, which helped unite factions. Shah also fixed a target of 150 seats, with a 51% vote share in every booth. This galvanised the ranks.
Cong overwhelmed:
Congress had no answer to Modi’s campaign blitz. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed eight rallies each between October 31 and November 15, but were overwhelmed by Modi and Shah. Modi, Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda repeatedly attacked the opposition alliance INDIA as “anti-Sanatani” and a “ghamandiya gathbandhan” (arrogant alliance). Stalin Jr’s comments on Sanatan Dharma came at the worst possible time for Congress, giving BJP fodder to step up the attack.
Kamal Nath, who led the Congress campaign, cancelled a planned INDIA rally in Bhopal. ‘Jai-Veeru’ misses Scindia:
Congress’s campaign was led by Kamal Nath and former CM Digvijaya Singh, referred to as “Jai-Veeru” from Sholay. But the next rung was sorely missed. Congress didn’t have the combative commanders who would take the fight to BJP. Digvijaya’s son Jaivardhan and former minister Jitu Patwari tried, but Congress missed Jyotiraditya Scindia’s aggressive campaign of 2018. Congress also couldn’t match BJP’s ground deployment despite going into the polls with 58,000 booth workers – its highest ever.
It paled before BJP’s 41 lakh registered workers with deep booth-level penetration. “In this contest of democracy, we accept the decision made by voters of Madhya Pradesh. As the opposition party, we will continue to perform our duties. I congratulate BJP and hope that the way people of the state have supported them, they will work to fulfil their expectations,” Nath said.
