Lotus set to bloom in Chhattisgarh
New Delhi, Dec 3:
The BJP is poised for a dominant performance in the Hindi heartland states and is slated for a two-thirds majority in Madhya Pradesh and is heading towards comfortable victories in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, according to the latest trends from Election Commission.The counting of votes in the four states, which went to the polls last month, started at 8 am on Sunday.
The Congress is poised to win Telangana for the first time in a shock for the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi which was in power in India’s youngest state for the past 10 years.
The BJP is leading on 163 of 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 53 of 90 seats in Chhattisgarh and 114 of 199 seats in Rajasthan.
Congress, which was seen to have an edge in Chhattisgarh, is leading on 36 seats in the state. In Madhya Pradesh, it is leading on 65 seats and in Rajasthan on 70 seats.
Rajasthan seems to have followed the over three-decade old trend of rotating governments and the Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot appears to be on its way out.
BJP is on its way to creating a record in Madhya Pradesh and its expected coming to power again after having ruled the state for 18 of the past 20 years is an apparent indication of the party’s organizational hold in the state as well as popularity of its schemes and leadership.
BJP has bounced back strongly in Chhattisgarh where the ruling Congress was supposed to have done well. A strong, sustained and aggressive campaign and its matching Congress in poll promises seem to worked for the BJP.
Madhya Pradesh
The latest trends in Madhya Pradesh show that the Bharatiya Janata Party is heading for a comfortable majority.
However, former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath said that he is “confident” about his party forming the government. Speaking to the reporters here, the Congress leader said that he has ‘trust’ in the voters of the state.”I have not seen any trends; I don’t need to look at any trends till 11 am. I am very confident; I trust the voters of Madhya Pradesh…” he said.
The BJP fought the poll under a largely collective leadership while Congress projected former Chief Minister Kamal Nath as its chief ministerial face.Nath has been the MP Congress Committee (MPCC) president for several years. He has represented the Chhindwara parliamentary seat for nine terms since 1980, becoming one of the longest-serving MPs in the country.
The Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections were held on November 17, 2023, to elect all 230 members of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
Rajasthan
The BJP appeared set to wrest Rajasthan from the Congress with counting trends a little after noon showing the party leading on 111 seats, way past the Congress which was ahead in 71 constituencies. If the initial trends released by the Election Commission hold, the party is comfortably past the halfway mark of 100. Celebrations broke out at the BJP’s State headquarter as the party crossed the majority-mark, in terms of trends.
As the trends poured in, BJP candidate from Kota north Prahlad Gunjal said that the BJP is going to form the government. “Rajasthan has given the mandate and the picture will become clear in sometime,” he said.
When asked who will be the CM, he said, “This will be decided by the party high command. We have big leaders like Vasundhara Raje and we need not bring from outside.” Gunjal is contesting against parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal.
Three-tier security arrangements have been ensured at the counting venue and only those with authorised passes would be able to enter.
While most of pollsters predicted an edge for the BJP, three exit polls in their upper limit forecast a Congress win in the desert state.
Telangana
In Telangana, Congress gained from the anti-incumbency against the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi with its leader A Revanth Reddy seen to be a fierce critic of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. Victory in Karnataka in assembly polls earlier this year enthused Congress workers in Telangana and the party ran a strong campaign bolstered by its leaders from different parts of the country.
As per the latest trends from the Election Commission, Congress is leading in 63 of 119 assembly seats, BRS on 41, BJP on nine, AIMIM on 4 and CPI on one.
The BJP has improved its vote share in the southern state and is poised to improve its tally as well.
While the Congress will be happy over its expected victory in Telangana, the loss in Hindi heartland states is a cause of worry for the party months before the Lok Sabha polls. Of the large swathe of the Hindi heartland, Congress is in power only in Himachal Pradesh and is part of the government in Bihar.
Chattisgarh
As the BJP crossed the halfway mark and is leading ahead of Congress in Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, it’s still a neclk to neck battle between the two parties.
While CM Bhupesh Baghel of Congress was leading over BJP’s Vijay Baghel by 164 votes after four rounds of counting of votes, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu was trailing in Durg Rural seat by 1,365 votes against BJP’s Lalit Chandrakar.
Also read | Exit polls show Congress win in Telangana and Chhattisgarh, but differ over Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan results
Tight security arrangements have been made in all counting centres in all 33 districts, including the ones affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE), officials said.
A total of 1,181 candidates are in the fray, including Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Deputy Chief Minister T. S. Singh Deo (both from Congress) and former CM Raman Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Counting in Mizoram, which went to the polls last month, will take place on Monday.
